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THE 

CHRISTIAN GUIDE 

TO A RIGHT UNDERSTANDING OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES, 



DESIGNED AS A 



SELECT COMBIENTARir 

ON THE 

HARMONIZED AND CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED 
IN A NEW TRANSLATION, ON THE BASIS OF 

WAKEFIELD'S VERSION: 

TO WHICH ARE PREFIXED 

A BRIEF MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR 

AND A COPIOUS 

INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT. 



BY JOHN SAMUEL THOMPSON, 

MINISTER OF THE FIRST UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY, UTICA, N. Y. 



THE HOLT SCEIPYURES ARE ABLE TO MAKE THEE WISE TTXTO SALYATIOSr, 
THROUGH FAITH IJV CHRIST JESUS. PAUL. 



Y %. 

UTICA, N. Y. 

P'RINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY A. G. DAUBY. 
1836. 



»^° 



^'^k'^ 



NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW-YORK— ro WIT : 

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the fifth clay of January, lo 

,^^M^^ the fiftieth year of the Independence of the United States of 
^m^^^^ America, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and twenty six, 
aEBWiJJOHN S. THOMPSON, of said District, hath deposited in this 

*^5^^^ office, the title of a Book, the right whereof he claims as pro- 
'^"^ prietor, in the words following, to wit : 

"The Christian Guide to a right understanding of fhe sacred Scriptures; 
Designed as a Select Commentary on the four Evangelists, harmonized and 
chronologically arra^^ged in a new translation on the basis of Wakefield's 
Version : to which are prefixed a brief memoir of the Author, and a copi- 
ous introduction to the New Testament. By JOHN SAMUEL THOMPSON, 
Minister of the first Universalist society, Utica, N. Y. The Holy Scrip- 
tures are able to make thee wise unto Salvation, through faith in Christ Je- 
sus. — Paul. 

In conformity to the act of Congress of the United States, entitled, "An- 
act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, 
Charts, and Books to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the 
times therein mentioned," and also to an act entitled, "An Act, supplemen- 
tary to an act, entitled, « An act for the encouragement of learning, by se- 
curing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books to the authors and proprietors 
of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the ben- 
efits thereof to the aVts of Designing, Engraving, and Etching historical 
sind other prints.*' 

RICH'D R. LANSING, 
Clerk of the J^^orthern Distrivt of JVeW'York. 



TO THE MEWSOHY OP THB 

tlEV. JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, L. L. D. F. R. S. 

The most Philosophical Advocate of Pure Christianity, and the 
Most Successful Opposer of its Corruptions; 

« OF THE 

REV. GILBERT WAKEFIELD, A. B. 

Tlie most Critical Translator of the Christian Scriptures^* 

OF THE 

REV. NATHANIEL LARDNER, D. D. 

"VVho, in his "Credibility" and "Jewish and Heathen Testimonies" 

Has erected an everlastifig and impregnable bulwark 

For the safety of the Christian Religion; 

AND OF THE 

REV. THEO. LINSEY, & REV. THOMAS BELSHAM, 

Successively Ministers of Essex-st. Chapel, London; the brightest 

Examples of Disinterested Devotion to the Cause of Pure 

and Undefiled Religion, and the most Fearless and 

Candid Confessors of Truth, when most 

Despised and Unpopular : 

ALSO TO THE 

REV. ABNER KNEELAND, OF NEW-YORK, AND 

REV. HOSEA BALLOU, OF BOSTON ; 

For their indefatigable labours t© reclaim Mankind to tlte 

Knowledge of the true God, as a Universal 

and Uncliangeable Father; 

AND ALSO, WITH GREAT CORDIALITY, TO 

ALL THE MINISTERS OF RECONCILIATION, 

In fellowship with the Universalist Convention of the State of N. Yorkj 

THIS WORK, 

Designed to promote the knowledge of the only true God, and 
jesus Christ whom he hath sent, 

Is most Respectfully Dedicated, 

By their Sincere fellow laborer 
In the Gospel of Christ, 

JOHN S, THOMPSON. 



PREFACE 



No apology can reasonably be expected for any judicious at- 
tempt to illustrate the sacred volume, the fountainof life, and char- 
ter of the christian's privileges. Every effort of human ingenuity, 
every advance in critical refinement, every new discovery relative 
to the history of the times in which the sacred writers lived, and 
every detection of inconsistency, informer translations and com- 
mentaries, open the way to new improvements, and facilitate the 
acquirement of more correct and rational views of the religion of 
Jesus, and the emancipation of human intellect from spiritual 
thraldom, and the bondage of ignorance. 

An apology, however, can be fairly preferred, sufficient to jus- 
tify this undertaking. When men had fallen from the instruc- 
tions derived from the Creator, through the traditions of the 
aborigines of this world, and the light of nature, diffused in the 
phenomena of Creation and Providence, Heaven interposed by 
giving a new revelation. When the spirit and influence of that 
dispensation began to decline, God sent forth his own Son, to re- 
illumine the world by a still more glorious light in the Gospel : 
and after the brilliancy of that most perfect luminary, became ob- 
scured by the corruptions of the Romish Church and the introduc- 
tion of Pagan notions, it pleased the Father of lights to raise up 
men of bold and adventurous minds, who succeeded, in different 
degrees, to check the inroads of idolatry and superstition, and 
rouse the slumbering mitid to inquire what Christianity was, and 
ought to be. So of late it hath pleased the same bountiful donor 
of every good and perfect gift, to manifest to some of his intelli- 
gent offspring, more especially in this free and inquiring country, 
the grand deception that has darkened for many ages the bright- 
est part of that revelation, bestowed on mankind through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. So supereminent is the information of eternal 
things to the soul of man, to all other instructions, whether polit- 
ical or moral, that the light which the Gospel casts over the gloomy 
scenes of futurity, is described as the sole object of Christ's Mis- 
sion, which brought, to a dying world, the glad news of immor- 
tality and eternal life. But alas, what advantage is there in life* 



O PREFACE. 

if it be exposed to the danger of interminable misery. This! 
this is the grand subject of the serious imiid. Having learned 
that man shall live always, the next most important inquiry is, 
shall he live happily ? The consoling reply, he shall be happy 
while immortality endures, is that which this work is intended to 
demonstrate. If this grand desideratum can be effected, I shall 
rejoice in having been the happy instrument, in the hand of God, 
of having done fourfold as much for mankind, as all the professed 
commentators of the last fifteen centuries. 

The primary lesson, taught by our ever blessed Master, was the 
knowledge of God as a Universal Father. This is implied in that 
unparalleled form of pra^'er* which he delivered to his disciples, 
and, through them, to the whole world; for no scripture, saith an 
apostle, is of private interpretation.! Through the whole New 
Testament, the sacred writers seem to dwell on this endearing 
appellation. I ascend, saith the Saviour,:!: to my Father and your 
Father : and lest any should apply this language, by way of re- 
striction, to any particular class of men, exclusively, Paul, be- 
fore a heathen audience, says of the whole, inclusively *' we are 
also his offspring. '^11 

On the destruction of thne Roman Empire, after the death of 
Constantine, and the introduction of Gothic ignorancft, barbarism, 
like a resistless monster, made equal usurpation in Church and 
State. § The religion of Jesus had now become nearly as corrupt 
as the policy of Rome and the sun of righteousness,^ which had 
arisen in the Gospel day, had either undergone a total eclipse, or 
as if disgusted with the profanity of mankind, withdrawn to illu- 
mine another hemisphere; and left the professing christians, ei- 
ther to the shades of night, or the glimmering of those tapers they 
had impiously preferred. Seeing, therefore, the tiue character of 
the Uuiversal Parent, either almost lost, or at least continually 
misrepresented, in the different commentaries extant among chris- 
tians, after the example of my divine Master, I have endeavoured 
to recal mankind to this primary and most essential article of our 
holy religion. Jehovah being the father of all his intelligent off- 
spring, their inheritance can never be forfeited, nor their relation- 
ship disannulled. 

I would not reflect on my predecessors, who have amply contri- 
buted to the illustration of the history, criticism, and other partic- 
ulars of the sacred Scriptures; but truly, the great doctrines of 
Revelation, as yet, lie concealed beneath a load of rubbish ia 
all the commentaries on the holy book in circulation, if we ex- 
cept a very few in which the Divine Unity has been maintained and 
defended.! The great body of commentators, have followed each 

*Luke 11. 1—6. f 2d Peter 1. 20. |JohD20. 17. ||Acts 17. 29. JSee 
Mosheim, Jortin, aod others on that period. liMal. 3.2. **Th.ose of Priest* 
ley, Locke, Pierce and Belsham. 



PREFACE. 7 

other in close succession, pursuing the old path of misrepresenta^ 
tion, apparently with hearts alienated from the truths of the Gos- 
pel, by reason of the darkness that is in them because of unbe- 
lief.^ Peter tells us, Moses put a yoke on the neck of the Israel- 
ites which they were unable to bearjt but modern commentators 
and preachers say to mankind, Moses chastised the Israelites witli 
whips, but Christ will chastise you with scorpions.^ No wonder 
then that men act towards Christ as the Israelites did to Rehobo- 
am. Continually do we hear it proclaimed, that most men will 
sink deeper into perdition on account of Christ's interposition on 
their behalf. May God forgive such preachers and commentators; 
they know not what they do! 

When I first contemplated this laborious undertaking, I 
tliought of writing notes, comments, or dissertations on those pas- 
sages only, which I believed had been misunderstood by former 
annotators; but the more I reflected on the subject, the more i 
perceived the plan which I have adopted to be useful, and neces- 
sary to the accomplishment of my design. To proceed from one 
Evangelist to another, seemed to be trifling with the time and 
good sense af the intelligent reader, and filling a book with use - 
less repetitions. To arrange, therefore, the Gospel History, written 
by the four Evangelists, chronologically, into one digested series, 
appeared not only adapted to the advantage of the reader, but par- 
ticularly calculated to facilitate the work of a commentator. But 
^hile I thought of these things, a war arose in my mind about the 
management of the sacred text. Should I write notes on the Gos- 
pels, harmonically arranged merely, by figures of reference. The 
common reader would be entirely at a loss, in perceiving the in- 
tention and application of the comment to the text. The next in^ 
quiry which suggested itself, was, if the text be admitted, from 
what version shall it be taken? Not finding myself at liberty to 
use any book; the copyright of which has been secured, I im- 
mediately fixed on Wakefield's Version, as possessing advantages 
i«n many things overall others: and the more I reflect, the more I 
am satisfied with the selection. Having thus far proceeded in my 
plati, I found another difficulty to present itself of somewhat an 
appalling nature. The discrepancies of harmonists, appeared tru- 
ly perplexing. A Newcombe, a Priestley, an Eichhnrn, a Michae- 
lis, and a White, seemed alternately to prefer their pleas, and 
call my attention to the different merits of their claims. Notwith- 
standing, I adopted the arrangement of Dr Priestley, which is fol- 
lowed, not blindly, but with such variations as were thought con- 
«istent and necessary. 

As it is the design of the author, that this work, in connexion 
irith his lectures, should furnish the student and intelligent inqui- 
ter^ with a complete synopsis of the christian theology; and a 

*Eph. 4. IG. fActs 15. 10. list. Kings. 12 14- 



PREFACE. 



concise directory to point out the path of investigatioi^, in all sub- 
jects connected with our holy religion, a copious introduction to 
the study of the New Testament, has been prefixed. This part 
of the work will consist of brief dissertations, on the following 
important and interesting subjects: 1 Of the Scriptures in Gen- 
eral, 2 The Authenticity, 3 The Authority, " 4 The In- 
tegrity, 5 The Inspiration of the Writers, 6 The Lan- 
guage, 7 The Chronology, 8 The History, 9 The Interpretation 
of the Scriptures, 10 Jewish Customs, 11 Jewish Sects, 12 
The Christian Church. 'J hen will succeed, a Commentary on the 
Harmony of the Evangelists, with which the volume will close. 

To the christian reader, the author begs leave to observe; that 
it is not without intense concern that he has ventured to commence 
this work. His introduction to the fellowship of Biblical com- 
mentators, fills him with all the solemnity of an approach to the 
world of spirits. His ardent prayer ti> Almighty God is, that in 
all his attempts to explain the sacred volume, he may be continu- 
ally under the influence >f that Spirit, which descended on the 
Apostles on the day of Pentecost ; and be kept by the goodness 
and wisdom of his Heavenly Father, from falling into any mis- 
representation of the Heavenly Oracle. He enters on the work, 
at peace with God and all his intellectual offspring; and like the 
great Master of Christians, desires to labor for the profit and sal- 
vation of the whole world. May he and all his readers be dives- 
ted of all prejudice and uncharitable selfishness, and duly feel 
the spirit of the following lines : 

Fond mortals do themselves beguile, 

When on themselves they rest; 
Blind is their wisdom, vam their toil, 
Bj thee, O Lord, unblest Scolt. 

If I am right, thy grace impart, 

Still in the right to stay ; 
If I am wrong, O teach my heart 

To find that better way— — Pope. 

Btica, Januafji 5* 1826. J. S. T. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 



WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 



Though a certain delicac^ be connected with tke writing of sL 
person's own history, which renders the labor somewhat unpleas- 
ant and embarrassing, and naturally restrains that freedom of 
praise or blame, which posterity might feel disposed to attach to 
the ditFerent facts contained in the narrative, yet the greater cer- 
tainty and simplicity of the history will amply compensate for this 
deficiency. Indeed, all the intelligent reader requires, and 'all 
that the honest historian should relate, is a candid and simple 
statement of facts, with their causes and consequences, the mo- 
tives and designs of the transaction, in order to form such conclu- 
sions as may appear most correct and natural. 

I was born in August, 1787, in the town of Bally william, parish., 
of McCosquin, within the liberties of Colerain, county of Lon- 
donderry, Ireland. 1 was the only son of David by Mary; the 
former of whom died in February, 1813, aged 59 years; leaving a 
family of eight persons to lament the loss of one, who had spent a 
laborious and industrious life in their service; and whose charac- 
ter remained doubly endeared from the consideration tha€ it had 
never been sullied by a single stain. Happy shade, thou dwellest 
now as thou always didst, remote from fell envy's dread domain ;^ 
and though the bubble honors of life's short fame, never drew up- 
on thee the hate or praise of vulgar minds, in solitude with thy 
family, in unmasked friendship with a select few, and in commun- 
ion with the Great Author of being, thy days passed in innocence 
and thy sun went down in tranquillity. 

Of my ancestry no record was kept, nor did the obscure life of 
country farmers, seem worthy of a place in the public registers. 
To be, satisfied their desire: John, my grandfather, was an elder 
in the presbyterian congregation of the parish; and was highly es- 
teemed by the little circle of his acquaintances. My mother's 
family, of the name of Simon, were all warmly attached to the 
Secession from the Church of Scotland: her brother, Thomas, was 
also an elder of a congregation; and his revered name and unva- 



10 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

tied piety, are still held in grateful remembrance. Thus the 
memory of my ancestors is embalmed, not in the archives of roy- 
alty, political fame, or martial achievement, but in the remem- 
brance of those who witnessed their exemplary piety, honest indus- 
try and moral virtue. Connected with my family are the Kings, Mc- 
phersons, and Rosses, all of whom are highly and justly esteem- 
ed, being uniformly well conducted, sober, and religious; and all 
remain strenuous sticklers for the doctrine and discipline, of the 
Swiss reformer. 

Though the fifth child, yet I was the only son of my mother, 
whose parental fondness tended greatly to retard my early edu- 
cation, so that when I entered the twelfth year of my age I re- 
mained ignorant of the Roman alphabet 1 About this time, she 
and I began, simultaneously, to pej ccive our mistake, and mutual 
exert'on soon repaired the deficiency. I had only gone six weeks 
to school, till, using the language of Gil Bias, I could read, cour- 
amment, currently, and as ninety-nine out of an hundred of 
mankind, think all read alike well, who read with equal celerity, 
no further delay on this point was deemed necessary. I was im- 
mediately s«t to pot-sticks, a name of ridicule given to straight 
lines, first made by beginners in writing. Having used the pen, 
with assiduity, for about three months, I was transplanted from 
the desk of the scribe, to that of the arithmetician. Six months 
being added to the former period, I began to approach the summit 
of my master's temple of science, and my English education was 
therefore deemed complete. Here a pernicious stagnation com 
menced, and remained until the seventeenth year of my age. 

During this season of relaxation, the mind, ever active, sought 
for employment. Continually pondering on religious subjects, I 
became very intimately acquainted with the Bible; a considerable 
part of which I committed to memory. A peculiar desire for doc- 
trinal discussions and frequent references to the scriptures, ena- 
bled me to use their language with great ease and facility. Being 
frequently in religious meetings, and accustomed to pray in pub- 
lic, from the age of fifteen, I surmounted that diflfidence and em- 
barrassment, too common among young people on devotional oc- 
casions. 

In the spring of 1802, I offered as a candidate for christian fel- 
lowship with the Seceder congregation of Crossgar; and as can- 
didates for communion were examined three several times before 
admission, my mind was greatly agitated through fears of unwor- 
thiness. Never shall the remembrance of that awful season, when 
first I approached the table of the Lord, be erased from my mind. 
I had been taught, and consequently believed, that, by nature, I 
was exposed to all the anger and vengeance of an insulted Deity; 
and therefore, I thought, if I should escape from the devoted altar, 
without becoming a victim to my temerity, I should esteem it an 
unparallelled instance of divine forbearance. Indeed, such were 



HEMOIR OF TH£ AUTHOB. it 

the dreadful apprehensions, on that occasion, that I thought as 
soon as I would stretch out my hand to receive the emblems of a 
crucified Redeemer, the lightnings of heaven would play on my 
devoted head! 

Such feelings arose from the belief of two doctrines, abundant- 
ly absurd and popish; the first, that none are qualified to com- 
memorate the death of Christ, but such as have obtained entire 
preparation for Heaven, and the second, being a cognate of tran- 
substantiation, generally called consubstantiation, implies, that 
though the bread and wine in the sacrament, be not really trans- 
formed into the very flesh and blood of Christ, yet he is really and 
essentially present m these emblems, and that the believer as ac- 
tually feeds on Christ's fiesh and blood, in the communion, by 
faith, as on the bread and wine, by sentient faculties. Far other- 
wise, is the subject represented in the sacred Scriptures* There 
we learn, that on the night previous to his crucifixion, he took bread 
a«d brake it, and gave to his disciples, saying: 'Hake, eat, this is 
(the memorial of) my body which is given for you; this do in re- 
membrance ©/ we." Hence the disciples usually broke bread, ev- 
ery first day of the week, in memory of their crucified Master.* 
Thus, the celebration of the Lord's supper is, and was intended 
to be, a grateful memorial of what he has done for us, and a 
pledge of our attachment to his religion. 

The manner of administration of this institution, among the Se- 
ceders and churches of Scotland, in general, is calculated to 
inake a deep impression on all spectators, but more especially on 
th« minds of timid youth. The season of celebration is generally 
announced, four weeks before the communion Sabbath; a fast is 
held on the Wednesday or Thursday preceding the day of admin- 
istration, and a public service, on the Saturday, at the close of 
which, little square pieces of lead called tokens of admission, 
with the name of the church or congregation engraven on them, 
are distributed to all communicants, which are collected by the el- 
ders of the congregation, from the persons ^ho present themselves 
at the table. On the Sabbath, the minister, attended by two or 
three of the neighboring clergy, ascends the pulpit, and after the 
morning services, the congregation all remaining, which, on those 
occasions, is unusually large. The minister commences an address 
on the nature and design of the institution. Afterwards, he pro- 
ceeds to fence the table, a peculiarity of expression, which implies 
a public and solemn prohibition of all who are guilty of any sin, 
of all heretics, who hold not, in sacred conscience, the holy or- 
thodox, Apostolic, and Calvinistic faith. In a word, the Minis- 
ter's address is a complete imitation of Moses' conduct,t when 
he divided the Israelites into two classes; the one being placed on 
Mount Ebal, to pronounce a thousand curses upon the people, and 

*Act8 2. 42; and 20. 7 f Deut. 27. 



is MFMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

the other, on Mount Gerizim, to pronounce as many blessings/ 
The relation of this part of the history, naturally reminds me of 
a story, concerning a certain curate, in Wales, who, on the Sab- 
bath of coniminatiun, alias cursing, thus addressed his congrega- 
tion: — "My hearers, the day is very cold, and your patience is 
almost exhausted. I am, however, on this day, appointed by the 
canons of our chnrch, to read a part of the service, which impre- 
cates a thousand curses upon you all. I will, therefore, cut the 
work short, in righteousness, by saying, ' the curse of God rest 
upon you all!" and thus dismissed the congregation. 

However these proceedings may be regarded by others, they 
made a most deep and lasting impression on my mind. 1 hence, 
became peculiarly frequent and fervent in prayer; and, in the 
course of that season, believed that I received the impression of 
regenerating power ; a doctrine, probably, too much despised and 
neglected, from the great and frequent abuses to which it is liable, 
but which, notwithstanding, makes a very prominent and essen- 
tial part of the christian dispensation. 

Shortly after these events, I became ardently desirous of enga- 
ging in the ministerial office, believing myself, thereunto, divine- 
ly called. And though I saw no probability of ever attaining the 
desired object ot my calling, yet, like Abraham ^'against hope 
believing in Ao/^e,"! doubted not, but was strong in faith, trusting 
in the Sovereign Dispenser of all events. Here I solemnly aver, 
that whatever motives may have operated with others, in the choice 
of the holy Ministry, I never desired it on any other account, but 
as the means of serving the Redeemer's kingdom, in the most ef- 
fectual manner, by promoting the spiritual and eternal interests 
of his subjects. Nor have I, in all my life, from the tii'e the im- 
pression was first made, for a moment doubted of my appointment 
to that office, being as really determined, in the purposes of Jeho- 
vah, as the selection of Jeremiah to that of a Prophet. 

Perceiving my circumstances extremely unfavorable to the ac- 
complishment of my views, and having no other ground of confi- 
dence but the hopeof a special interposition of Providence, I made 
a solemn vow, that if God would give me the desire of my heart, 
by putting me into the ministry of his dear Son, no worldly con- 
siderations should ever operate to enslave my mind, or embarrass 
my services; my heart should be free, my mind uncontrolled, my 
life and labors devoted to the propagation of his Gospel, without 
any restraint arising from fear or hope, persecution or reward. 
This, my solemn promise, I committed to writing, enclosed it in 
wrappers, affixed several seals, and kept it in secrecy until I be- 
came capable of translating it into Latin. And at whatever time 
I felt convicted of having yielded to any folly of youth, or suffer- 
ed my mind to wander from God and his service, I retired and 
wept over my covenant engagement. 

In the Spring of 1804, I consulted Mr, Wilson, the minister of 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 15 

the congregation with which I was connected, relative to the 
means which I should adopt, in order to obtain the end in con- 
templation. He informed me there was no way of approaching 
the sacred office, lawfully, but bj the door of Presbyterial ordina- 
tion, to which I could not attain otherwise, than by a servitude of 
ten yearsj three at a classical school, three at a University, and 
four at a ^^Bivinity HaW^ This information caused my heart to 
sicken at a prospect so truly appalling. God of wisdom, cried I, 
when will the time come, in which this arbitrary and unnecessary 
yoke of bondage, shall be broken from the neck of candidates for 
the ministry; and they admitted, whenever they are found quali- 
fied, though they may not have been brought up at the inQi of Ga- 
maliel nor gone through the barbarous process of collecting the rel- 
ics of Pagan Rome, for four or five years, to obtain suitable prep- 
aration for the service of Christ in the Gospel. This I say, from 
a conviction that the study of the Latin classics is by no means 
necessary to a clergyman; and that both Roman and Grecian My- 
thology is generally found to prove injurious. Notwithstanding, 
I resolved to undertake the long and laborious exercise of plodding 
through the Latin Dictionary; and also the tedious and ridiculous 
process of making Latin both in prose and verse; the very best 
specimen of which, would have excited Horace to exclaim: 

Operum hoc, mihi crede, tuorum est. 

Believe me, Sir, you always miss 

The accent, rhyme, and tone ; 
No Roman will acknowledge this, 

The work is all your own. 

I would not be understood as disapproving the excellent in* 
structions given at many academical and collegiate establishments 
for education; but I am persuaded, it is equally absurd for men 
to require an apprenticeship of seven years for the ministry, as for 
any other business. There are some who will make greater pro- 
gress in three years, than others in seven, and it must be very in- 
consistent, to compel those who can run swiftly, to loiter with 
those who may be indifferent as to the time spent on the jour- 
ney. I am well satisfied, that without a considerable knowledge 
of history, political, natural, and ecclesiastical, (which implies an 
acquaintance with the elements of Mathematics, Geography, and 
Astronomy,) also of Grammar and composition, and the Greek 
and Hebrew Scriptures, no man can ever rationally pretend to be 
above a mere novice in Theology; and instead of being an advan- 
tage to the christian ministry, he will only disgrace both himself 
and it: but proper application, under a good tutor, may accomplish 
all this in three or four years, provided the student possess good 
talents and a liberal English education; and have, moreover, arri- 
ved at the age of sixteen, earlier than which period, no person 
should attempt a course of collegiate studies.. 



1^ MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

As soon as my friends knew my intention, they sirenuonsiy 
opposed my project; and believing it impossible for me to pro- 
ceed, either with or without the assistance which my father coald 
aftbrd, they advised him to not countenance me at alJ. I was 
therefore, deprived of all support, and left entirely to my own ex- 
ertions. At this peculiar season of trial, one of my relatives, Edv 
ward Taylor, sent for me, and began to expostulate, concerning the 
imprudence of my undertaking; and offered me considerable in* 
ducement to abandon my design and content myself with the oc- 
cupations of my father. Having listened a few moments to his 
adulations, I instantly assumed an air of determination, which 
soon confronted all his arguments, and filled him and all my 
friends with despair of success, in their endeavors to divert my 
attention from my favorite pursuit. "Sir," said I, '^unless the 
eternal Jehovah have fixed by an immutable decree, that I cannot, 
I shall be a minister!" 

On my way to school, the next day, my mind was greatly agita«- 
ted on account of the advice of my father, not to return to his 
house till I had changed my resolution. But raising my heart and 
voice to the God of nature, I exclaimed, the earth is the Lord's 
and the fulness thereof; and if it seem good to him that I should 
serve him in the ministry and kingdom of his dear Son, he can as 
easily furnish me with the means, as he did Abraham with the ram 
for an offering. Whilst I uttered these words, that passage of 
the thirty-seventh Psalm was divinely impressed on my mind: 
**Delight thyself in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of 
thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him, 
and he shall bring it to pass; he shall bring forth thy righteousness 
as the light, and thy judgment as the noon day." So powerful was 
the impression that these words made, that I leaped for joy as I 
passed on my way, and never after did I doubt of success, though 
nearly the whole expense of my education, was derived from 
teaching whilst I wa^ taught. 

I have written these things for the encouragement of youth in in- 
digent circumstances. None can have greater obstacles to 8ur j 
mount, than those, over which, by the help of God, I have tri- 
umphed. Let therefore none be discouraged, for "prayers and 
pains will effect any thing." But let us reflect on the prayer of 
Agur; *give us neither poverty nor riches:' and on that which our 
blessed Master has taught us, "thy will be done." Blessed be 
the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, that ever he couated 
me worthy, by putting me into the ministry of reconciliation. O, 
that I may like Caleb follow him fully! 

Unwilling to occupy much of the readers attention or time, 
with the private concerns of an individual, I shall s+udy to ren- 
der this narrative as concise as possible. In 1805, I left Cole- 
rain, and went to reside with my father, who had removed into 
the county of Antrim, four miles south-east of Ballymoncy. Her* 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR* JS 

tjhe Rev. Moses Kerr, minister of the Seceder coHgregation of 
Drumafivey, became my tutor, and exerted himself on my behalf: 
so that in 1 c08, on being examined by a cemmittee of the Presbyl- 
fry of Derry, I obtained the following certificate: 

"I hereby certify that I am intimately acquainted with the 
bearer, John S. Thompsons a young man of good talents and close 
application. I have examined him in the presence of the Rev. 
Messrs. BelK Jardin, and Kmeer, who agree with me in opinion, 
that he has read Greek and Latin to their satisfaction, in ordw^ 
to go to College." 

Drumafivey, October, 1808. MOSES KERR. 

Notwithstanding, as I found my progress peculiarly embarrass- 
ed by pecuniary difficulties,*! declined making the intended jour- 
ney to Scotland; and at the instance of some friends, commenced 
U school in the vicinity of Ballycastle, a beautiful villag;e and 
port at Fair Head, opposite the Island of Rathlin. Here I can- 
not forbear mentioning the names of Mr. Andrew Boyd and Mr. 
John Sharpe, two excellent young men, with whom I maintained 
a most intimate and confidential friendship. The house of Mrs. 
Boyd was truly to me a delightful home, where I received every 
mark of good will and kind hospitality. Here let me be permit- 
led to say, that Ireland is the only country on earth, where hos- 
pitality is developed in all the magnitude of its soothing influ- 
ence, and heart felt engaging attractions. 

During the winter, I delivered evening lectures on English 
Grammar to a large class of young gentlemen, who were all well 
pleased with the new method of instruction. This course of lec- 
tures established my reputation, as a Grammarian, and obtained 
for me that respectability in my profession as a teacher, that 
through all the vicisitudes of time, place and station, I have ever 
been able to maintain. At this time, Drs. Boyd and Fullerton 
commenced their classical studies under my care, and Dr. Chris- 
tie completed his course, in the above department. 

In the Fall of 1809, I returned to Colerain and resumed my 
own studies, under the direction of Mr. Guiler, one of the best 
and most philosophical teachers I ever knew. As the Academy was 
very numerously attended, I read with all the Latin and Greek 
classes, and in the evening, recited privately, a portion of Ho- 
mer's Iliad, on which he commented with great ability. 

In November, I embarked for Scotland, and entered the first 
Philosophical class in the University of GUsgow, the chair of 
which was then filled by the worthy professor Jardin. Tliis was 
the usual rank of students in the second year; but as my exami" 
nation in the Latin and Greek was satisfactory, I was permitted.to 
enter as student of Logic and Mathematics. Notwithstanding, I 
also attended the Greek classes, public and private; then con- 



16 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

ducted by Professor Young, undoubtedly the most critical Gre- 
cian of the age, if we except the great Porson of Cambridge, 
England; to whom, as a public lecturer, the Scotch Professor, 
could not be justly deemed inferior. IS or have the other chairs 
of this excellent institution been dishonored. The name of Reed 
in Logic, Hutchinson in I>hics, Simpson in Mathematics, Burns 
in Surgery, and Thompson in Chemistry, are sufficient to elevate 
its character to the first rank of Collegiate establishments. 
Though I afterwards became acquainted with the merits of the 
different Universities in Europe and America, I have seen no' rea- 
son to prefer any other University to that of Glasgow. Nay rath- 
er, it is my solemn impression, that an attentive student will 
progress farther in the science here, in four years, than he can any 
where else in six. The number of students at this College, equals, 
annually, about 1500; all of whom ar^intended for the Ministeri- 
al or Medical profession. The mode, adopted here, of delivering 
morning lectures, and afterwerds examining the students at a later 
hour on the same day, on the subject of the morning's lecture, has 
a \nost excellent tendency; and so effectually engraves the leading 
doctrines of the science on the tablet of memory as proves a pow- 
erful antidote to forgetful ness. The Philosophical and Chemical 
apparatus is good, the College library large, and well selected; 
and Hunter's Museum, (so called from the celebrated donor, Dr. 
Wiiliam Hunter, of London) is a great advantage and ornament 
to the University. Here I first began to discover, in what de- 
partment of literature my mind was calculated to excel. Out of 
170 students in the Logic class, of all ages and from several coun- 
tries of Europe and America, I had only two that merited the name 
of rivals; and in Mathematics, I had none at all, and therefore 
obtained of my fellow-students, the cognomen of Euclid. 

In 1811, I went to the University of St. Andrews, partly with 
a view of variety, and partly encouraged by the prospect of being 
able to defray my expenses, by teaching in one of the schools in 
that city. During my residence there, I occupied a room in St. 
Leonard's College and attended the lectures of Professor Cooke, 
on Moral Philosophy, Dr. Briggs, on Chemistry, and a course of 
lectures on Civil History. Cooke was a great admirer of Puffen- 
dorf, and was generally so surnamed by the students. He labor- 
ed, strenuously, to maintain the doctrine of free agency, which 
tended to excite, in my mind, suspicions of Calvinism. The dig- 
nity of the Latin chair was well sustained by Dr. John Hunter, 
who was in all things at St. Andrews, what Professor Young was 
at Glasgow. The Theological chair of St. Mary's College, was 
then truly dignified by the worthy Professor Hill, at that time, 
the best Orator and ablest Theologian in Scotland. The library 
at St. Andrews is the largest in that kingdom. The extensive 
Halls of the ancient Parliament House, are completely filled with 
books, and students are under no restrictions nor taxation in their 



MEMdtR OF THE AUTHOR. 1^ 

admission. At this time, I joined the Philosophical Society of 
St. Andrews, and supported, in my tirst thesis, the niateriaiity of 
the Imuian soul, a doctrine then esteemed closely allied to Athe- 
ism, but had no effect on my character, being then considered one 
of the most pious students. 

In 1812, 1 returned to Ireland, and commenced as a classical 
teacher, in the Academy of !NtMton Limavad}, a most delightful 
village on Lough Foyle, fifteen miles north of Derry. Here, seem- 
ingly, more by accident than otherwise, I became acquainted with, 
the Methodists: and by reading the works of Whitby and Fletch- 
er, 1 exchanged my Calvinisitic side of the five points, for that of 
the Arminiani Not finding n»y situation so profitable as I 
expected, I removed to a private school, beautifully situated on 
the banks of the Foyle, eight miles south of Derry, -vhere I spent 
a season, most agreeably, amongst an effectionate people. Short- 
ly after I had opened my school, being ardently concerned for 
the spiritual welfare of the people, who seemed to me very indif- 
ferent about religion, 1 commenced to preach on the Sabbaths in 
the school room; which soon roused the attention of the neighbor- 
hood, and had a very happy tendency. Many of the people were 
manifestly blessed, and their christian privileges greatly improv- 
ed. The Episcopal Clergyman of the parish came to hear in com- 
mon with the people of his charge, and highly approved, which 
induced many of the neighbors to desire the erection of a Meeting 
House, in that place, for my use, which might serve as a chapel 
of ease. My unwillingness to locate in a country place, at so 
early a period of my life, prevented the execution of the design. 

Whether 1 was now become a wild enthusiast, or a very zealous 
Christian, afforded a topic of frequent discussion, and the votes 
were numerous on both sides of the question. One thing, some- 
what extravagant and calculated to prove offensive to even many 
sober, well meaning Christians, I now streruously advocated; 
that was, the practicability of miracles, in modern times. I held 
that provided we had the same proportion of faith, which the A- 
p)>5tles had, the same effects would follow. Nor do I yet perceive 
auy formidabli objection to this opinion. Bu^. the overaction of 
■feie passions in religion; like drunkenness or gluttony, is not only 
blamable but also pernicious. The ardor and frequency of reli- 
gious exertions soon began to effect dreadful ravages in my consti- 
tution; and disorder and inability imperatively demanded relaxa- 
ation from aa oppressive servitude. Alas, seeminglj too late, I 
began to reflect on the advice of Sol anion: ''be not righteous over 
much, why shouldst thou destroy thyseifP"* Beholding all the symp- 
toms of consumption, attended with peculiar aofgr.avation, I be- 
came apprehensive of a speedy dissolution Reflecting on past 
endeavors to qualify myself for that sacred office, to which through 
ike help of God I had now attained, 1 could not restrain my la- 
=^'Eccl. 7. 16. 



18 



irEMOIR or THE AUTHOR. 



mentations on account of its seemingly premature terminatioB. 
My soul, in sacred fervor, sent forth strong ejaculations to the 
throne of the Eternal, and dared to asji'ume the language of ex- 
postulation with the Almighty. '•^O cause of all causes, origin, 
and governor of all events, thou seest the state to w hich my body 
is reduced, by my well meant efforts to sei ve the kingdom of thy 
dear Son, but if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole: and should 
it please thee, that 1 uiay serve thee, in that ( ffice, to which I have 
"Waded through seas of affliction and difficulty, interpose on my 
behalf." Scarcely had I uttered these expostulations, when every 
unpieasant symptom disappe;^r^d with the rapidity of lightning! 
So perfectly was 1 restored, that to the astonishment of my friends, 
I resumed preaching the next Sabbath. 

A few months after this event, a respectable female, at whose 
house I had frequently held meetings for prayer and exhortation, 
became sick, apparently unto death. Of her circumstances 1 
had not been apprized, till her husband requested the prayers of 
my congregation on her behalf, accompanying this request with 
another, that I should visit her the next<lay, as she had resolved 
to submit to a surgical operation, which, it was feared, she could 
not survive. Accordingly,! attended. Several of her friends from a 
distance, and two surgeons had arrived. I besought them to delay 
the operation till the next day, and preaclied that evening at her 
house. She heard with great attention, fearing that sermon should 
be the last she could ever attend. I selected as the subject of re- 
flection, the words of Christ relative to Lazarus i"^ **This sick- 
ness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of 
God may be glorified thereby." I was much inclined to make 
an entire application of the texU but my faith received severah 
repulses. The danger of exposing myself , to ridicule, with sever- 
al otltcr considerations, powerfully operated as restraints. Not- 
withstanding, 1 felt as if commissioned to announce good news to 
the broken hearted. 1 therefore, unhesitatingly declared, in my 
discourse, that the sickness of our friend would not be unto death, 
and that she would most surely recover! On the next morning, 
appearances were so favorable as to induce the surgeons to decline 
the operation, and excite confidence in her friends. Within two 
days the symptoms totally disappeared, and on the following Sab- 
bath, she attended worship at the usual place, travelling one mile 
©n foot. 

In the happiness which T then enjoyed, 1 could only be exceeded 
by the spirits of just men made perfect.. Visiting from house to 
house, I prayed and exhorted the people to reformation. Mr. 
Cunningham, a Presbyterian Minister, i-esiding in the neighbour- 
hood, being a strenuous Calvinist, and fearing my proceedings 
might have an evil tendency on his flock, opposed my opinions. 
Having spent a whole evening in controversy with this man, who 

*John 11. 4. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOE^l IS* 

manifestly felt disappointed at the result of our conversation, and 
being much concerned on his account, I spent the greater part of 
that night in prayer to Go(L for the emancipation of mankind, 
from prejudice and spiritual thraldom. Towards the close of that 
exercise, 1 became like Paul * so enraptured with joy a id divine 
confidence, that I knew not whether I remained in the body, or 
had exchanged worlds. This impression remained so strong the 
next morning, that I could scarcely believe myself an inhabitant 
of this barren world, till convinced by the surrounding scenery. 

Shortly afterwards, being ardently engaged on behalf of my 
congregation, that God would revive his work among them, on re- 
tiring to rest, I enjoyed a return of the same happy and celestial 
influence. Whether in dream or vision, I was unable to deter- 
mine, but I thought a Seraph entered my room filling it with a lu- 
minous effulgence, exceeding ten fold the brightness of the Sun: 
and whilst 1 distinctly perceived every part of the room, the po- 
sition of every article of furniture, my own, and that of the appari- 
tion, I heard a voice, saying: read I Kings 3. 10,11, and the room 
became gradually dark, as the light withdrew at one of the win- 
dows. I then found, I stood before the window, looking after the 
light, and had some difficulty in groping my way to my bed: the 
night being dark, and the time about two o'clock in the morning. 
I would not allow myself to sleep again tha,t night, being afraid of 
forgetting the direction. Having examined the passage as soon, 
as the light of day appeared, I found to my great satisfaction, 
what I always believed to be a gracious intimation, in answer to 
prayer. That day being Sabbath; an extraordinary influence 
seemed to rest on the people. I trust it v/as the beginning of 
montlis to some, and a time of serious impression to many. May 
the God of mercy save mankind, from hardness of heart and dis- 
belief of his holy w^ord ! 

These things are not related, from a desire of obtaining credit 
for what may appear to many incredible, but the historian ough^ 
to relate facts without regard to consequ-^nces, and as a majority 
of those who are acquainted with the writer, may probably deem 
him at present rather sceptical than enthusiastic, the above nar- 
rative should be esteemed a mark of candor, and not an attempt 
to proselyte to an opinion. 

Resolving to visit other parts of the Redeemer's inheritance, 
notwithstanding a general remonstrance from all my friends in 
that district, I left the north of Ireland; and journeyed towards 
the South, preaching repentance and remission of sins in the name 
of Jesus. On my departure, I was presented by the Episcopal 
Clergyman, with the following certificate, in the most voluntary 
manner: — 

*'The bearer, Mr. Thompson, has resided for some time in this 
neighbourhood, and from what I have both seen and heard, I be- 
*2 Cor. 12. 2 



Si MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

lieve him to be a most zealous Christian, and a truly pious charac- 
ter. He taught the most respectable children of this place, and 
was an indelatigiible laborer, in disseminating the word of God 
amongst his neighbours and friend^:. This is truly certified by me.' 

N. ROGERS, Curate of Taboine:' 
July, 1813. 

As the Methodist Conference sat in Dublin, in July, I attended, 
and was introduced to tije amiable Dr. Coke, one of the Methodist 
Episcopal fathers, and director of the Methodist Foreign Missions, 
to whom I was recommended by Matthew Langtree, Chairman of 
the Derry district. The Dr. was then preparing for the voyage to 
Ceylonv and promised to send for me the next year ; but the well- 
meaning and very zealous. Dr. died on the voyage : though for 
S{me time before, he was accustomed to say he only lived for the 
E St. However, the object was not lost : the men who went with 
him, prosecuted his de>:ign with becoming steadfastnes^ but not 
with the vio;or nor success that would have attended the personal 
eft'.rts ef Dr. Cok-. 

It may not be thought unseasonable to say somewhat of this lea- 
der of Methodism. And were his followers as truly imitators of 
his moral character, as of his zeal, much of the disgrace that at- 
taches to the profession of religion, and especially to that of Metho- 
dism, would pass away. He appeared to be a man of very polite 
manners, a part of education almost generally despised among 
Methodists. He had an accurate and clear articulation, and made 
a good and ag:reeable address. He was one of the few literary 
characters that have appeared as advocates of the Sect; for Metho \ 
dism, in all its stages, has never been able to boast often preach- 
ers, that truly merited the name of Classical scholars. Benson 
and Coke were both men of Classical abilities, but religious en- 
thusiasm, I should rather say, superstitious zeal, darkened the 
counsel and beclouded the understanding of both. They have left 
us commentaries; but without entering into a comparison of their 
particular merits, though both have no doubt ccmtributed to the ad- 
vantage of devotion, they are both (to use the language of one of 
the sect) "full of religious nonsense." They have, therefore, 
been both superseded, in a great degree, by Clarke. It will 
scarcely be believed, that the English Conference should enjoin 
upon every Minister, to provide himself with a copy of Benson's 
Bible, which, in connexion with Wesley's Notes and Sermons, they 
have established as the standard of Orthodoxy. But the secret 
can be easily unravelled. They well know that Dr. Clarke is, 
with them, like Gulliver among the Lilliputians, and therefore, in- 
fluenced by that low spirit of envy that dwells in cowards' bosoms, 
they know that their little short-lived fame can only attract notice, 
when real merit suffers by detraction. Dr. Clarke is the only- 
man of a truly great and original character, who has retained a 



MEMOIR OP THE AUTHOR. £^ 

standina; among the Methodists: and, be it known, that his con- 
nexion with them, has been to him a source of mingled feelings. 
The cup he has drank at their hand, has frequently had such a pro- 
portion of wormwood and galK that a less submissive soul thau 
the Doctor's, would not have condescended to drink. Anj per- 
son of critical s-igacitj, who reads the Doctor's Commentary, can- 
not fail to perceive the traits of an adventurous and original mind, 
and a plodding industry, labouring to select, from a vast magazine 
of valuable materials, mucli useful matter : but for want of a Clas- 
sical neatness and a systematical discernment, his work is rudis 
indi^estaqne moles. But T have said enough. Since the Bristol 
Conference, of 1820, if I mistake not. Dr. Clarke has had no of- 
ficial standing, at least in public administration, among the Metho- 
dists, though the matter is kept as mute as possible. Indeed, no 
man of learning and originality, can ever live with satisfaction, 
in the school of fanatical confusion; and had the Doctor not pos- 
sessed a considerable share of superstitious fear, in connexion with 
a desire of worldly interest and popularity, he could not have re- 
mained so long in the ranks of Methodism, But he always seem- 
ed to me, a man that was more w illing to be King of beggars, than 
servant of rulers. His Commentary proves him a Unitarian Uni- 
versalist in disguise; and notwithstanding all the heap of hetero- 
geneous sentiments intermixed, no more conclusive arguments 
have ever been published to the world against modern Orthodoxy, 
than those which his Commentary supply. 

Pursuing my narrative, during the year 1813 and part of 1814, 
I itinerated over a great part of the provinces of Ulster and Lein- 
ster, travelling many hundreds of miles, and preaching two or 
three times a day. Many hours of rapturous delight I enjoyed, 
but not without many intervening seasons of painful experience. 
To describe the chequered scenes of this year, would fill a volume, 
highly interesting to many of my readers. But I forbear. I began 
now to learn human nature, in all its varied forms, the knowledge 
of which is rather painful than pleasant, in certain circumstances. 

On the restoration of the Bourbons to the throne, an opening for 
Missionary adventures appeared to offer in France. I left Ireland 
for England, but through stress of weather, we were forced to put 
in at Holyhead, in Wales, from which I travelled on foot to Ban- 
gor Ferry. Here, and at Carnarven, St. Asaph, l^andrust, Dea- 
bigh, and Holywell, I preached, and spent some time very agreea- 
bly. In traversing North Wales, I preached sometimes, and at- 
tended the preaching of some others, when one half of the audi- 
ence could not understand five sentences during the discourse. It 
is usual to see the people attend, whether the service be in English 
or Welsh, for manner and gesture seem all that is necessary for 
the instruction of a sensitive people. But let it not be understood 
that this is spoken exclusively of the inhabitants o^ Wales, though 
it applies to them as well as to any people. During all my expe- 



M MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

rience as a preacher among; mankind, for one man that was under 
the direction of the understanding, there appeared one hundred 
under the controul of appetite or passion. So manifest is this to 
the discerning eye, that were it not for the observation of the 
Apostle, that ** God has subjected the creation to vanity,"*! 
should be almost inclined to admit the Calvinistic doctrine of to- 
tal depravity, or, like Origen and Plato, imagine that God ha&- 
thrown out of Heaven a class of lapsed intelligences, to atone for 
their misconduct, by grovelling, like the serpent, for a season, in 
the dust! 

Travelling to the South, and preaching in almost every town 
and village, I arrived at the great metropolis of the world. Here 
I was placed in a very unpleasant situation. Thinking of no evil, 
and fearing none, I arrived at the City Road Ghapel ; but when I 
applied to my pocket for my book, containing several introductojy 
letters, and all the money I had, lo! all had fled; and I was left 
an entire stranger, without introduction or friend. The Metho- 
dists appeared as unwilling t© countenance me, as if they had been 
assured of imposition. After gazing for some hours, like thou- 
sands of mankind, on their first appioach to this City, at an im- 
mense world, thrown into a heap, exciting in the mind the appre- 
hension of magic or enchantment, rather than a conviction of reali- 
ty, I passed on towards Dover. I suppose that my good London 
friends, sufficiently conscious of what they were themselves, and 
believing I might resemble them, forwarded notices of caution to 
the preachers on the way to Dover, though I had^not been one pen- 
ny of expense to any of them : for, perceiving my letters gone, 
and the probability of suspicion, I disposed of an excellent watch, 
which I had, for tes^ than half value, in order to avoid the ap- 
pearance of dependency. 

Arriving at Rochester, I called at the house of Mr. Griffith, 
Superintendent of the Rochester circuit, and that year. President 
of the English Conference. The manner of this gentleman's ad- 
dress, first excited the apprehension of the London artifice, which 
I afterwards had reason to believe was put in operation against 
me. I relate the conversation which passed between me and this 
preacher, who being one of the oldest, and esteemed one of the 
ablest Methodists in England, will show the liberality of his mind, 
and the extent of Methodistic Theology. Griffith, where do you 
come from, Sir? Thompson — Ireland. G. What is your object 
in coming to this country? T. To preach among you, for a short 
time. G. That is strange, indeed. T* I hope Sir, you will not 
imitate two of the disciples of Christ, by opposing a man's efforts 
to cast out devils, though he be not one of your countrymen? G. 
If you wish to c;>st out devils, you should have stayed in Ireland, 
and pot come here; we have no need of your assistance. T. I am 
glad you have succeeded so well. I feared that there were devili- 

* Rpm. 8. 20. 



SlEMOIR OF THE AUTHOK. 2$ 

in "England as well as Ireland. G. What do you mean by casting 
out devils; do you believe that there were devils cast out of men? 
T. Sir, I do not understand all the Scriptures literally; 1 follow 
the literal sense as far as I can, but wh^n such language as that 
to which the reference is made, occurs, T think it was spoken in 
accommodation to the opinions iind capacity of men : for I cannot 
think that Ood is angry or repents, as the Scriptures say. G. Is 
not God angry with the wicked every day? T, I hope not. He 
may disapprove their conduct and punish them for their sin, and 
as we suppose | arents to be angry with their children when they 
offend, and are corrected for their offence, we may have transfer- 
red the idea of anger to God, but we ought not to make a literal 
application to hitn of human passions. G. I am sorry you called 
at my house; you are dangerous — you are far gone in Socinianism, 
and on the very verge of Deism— I will have nothing to say to a 
man who can torture the Scripturesl T. Sir, I will soon quit 
your house, but I am sorry for you — I scarcely know what So- 
cinianism means. 1 have pever read a book nor conversed with a 
man bearing the character : but if to read my Bible and under- 
stand it, be Socinianism, I am not afraid of the name. Calling 
nicknames is the folly of children, but I desire to put away childisli 
'things. G. I will not bid you farewell, neither shall I give yon 
my hand. T. Can you pray for me? G. I cannot. T I have 
decidedly the advantage of you, for I can bid you adieu, and pray 
for you, and in both be like my master. May God pity you, Sir, 
farewell! 

Leaving Rochester, I proceeded to Canterbury and spent a few 
days with the friends in that city; then advanced to Dover, wliere 
I was vQry kindly received by Mr. Robinson, Superintendent of 
that Circuit. I preached twice, to a very respectable audience, 
with great acceptation, and had a kind invitation, from the com- 
manding officer, to preach in the Castle, to the Derry regiment, 
then quartered in that station. Both Canterbury and Dover are 
delightful places for an agreeable residence. 

Passing ov«r to France, I found the political affairs of that coun- 
try, in a very fluctuating condition. 1 therefore accepted a situ- 
ation in the Calais Academy, as Professor of the English and La- 
tin Langjuages. Having about fifty young gentlemen from Lon- 
don and its vicinity, under my care, I thought it necessary, for 
their religious instruction, to have worship on the Sabbath. I ac- 
cordingly obtained leave, and held service in English, every Sab- 
bath, in one of the Lecture rooms. Assisted by some of the Eng- 
lish inhabitants, I got a place fitted for worship in the city, and 
commenced regular meetings, which were well and respectfully 
attended. About this time, a young Clergyman of the institu- 
tion, became dangerously diseased, and after a short time was 
abandoned by the physicians. A priest attended to receive his 
confession and administer the last rites. The Rector of the At- 



S4 MEMOIR GF THE AUTHOR. 

aciemy began to bemoan his loss of the young man, as he had beeig 
a very useiui and much esteemed teacher, among the students iti 
general. I asked what the Physician called the disease of which 
he complained, and was answered: **Phthisis pulmonalis. ' I 
apprehended there was some mistake, and made intimation there- 
of to the Rector; but he assured me the character of the Physi- 
sian stood very high. iSotwithstanding, said I, if the young 
man be left entirely to my direction, I fear not to warrant his re- 
covery. He replied, that if any thing could be done, his friends 
would feel highly gratified. I asked him to converse with his Con* 
fessor, and if he would co-operate all would go well Matters be- 
ing adjusted, 1 pronounced my opinion freely, as follows: ^-ihe 
young man's complaint w^as occtisioned by violence in leligious 
exercises; I have often heard him beat his breast with his tisis,* 
in such a manner as to excite apprehension for his life. Let the 
Confessor strictly prohibit every species of violence, and enjoin 
the necessity of the greatest calmness in devotion; let the young 
man be removed to the best country air, and a light but nutritive le- 
gimen be observed, allowing him, however, the occasional use of 
wine. These directions were implicitly obeyed, and in twenty 
days, the despaired of patient returned perfectly well! 

On this occasion, I had the following dialogue with one of the 
Priests. Priest. You are not a Priest, but a Layman. T. 1 preach, 
and think I have as good authority for so (tomg as the Catholic 
clergy. P. If you die in your present state, you will learn that 
you are awfully mistaken. T. I am not afraid to die. P. You are 
a heretic, and all heretics will be damned. T. You say so, but I 
have no evidence of the truth of your assertions. P. Your reli- 
gion is not taught in the Bible, nor sanctioned by the Church. T. 
I believe it is taught in the Bible; and as to the sanction of the 
Church, it is to me a matter of indifference. The Church sanc- 
tions many things evidently absurd. P. There are opinions held 
by Protestants, as absurd as those of the Catholic Church. T. I 
think not. Do you believe the wafer, in the Sacrement of the Eu- 
charist, contains the whole body, blood, and Divinity of Jesus 
Christ? P. I do. T. God forbid, I should be jour first commu- 
nicant; for, from all that I have learned of Mathematics, I would 
eat the whole of your God, and leave nothing for the rest! P. I 
say you hold to mysteries as well as we. T. For myself, I hold 
no mystery, nor doctrine that is manifestly oppposed to the evi- 
dence of my senses. 

The Catholics becoming afraid of the Protestant interest gain- 
ing advantage, by the great number of foreigners, that were daily 
entering France, in multitudes, commenced a persecution in the 
South, which n.ight have assumed a very serious aspect over a 
great part of the kingdom, had not the return of the Emperor from 
Elba, produced a change in the state of religious and national af- 

*A missrablo religion indeeu, which consists in tneabute oi ttie booyl 



MEMOIR OP THE AVTHOR, 25 

fairs. Whatever he was, he was the man, that, of all others, 
knew best to manage the French nation: and by him the teins of 
government were so conducted, as that order, peace, liberahtj, 
and safety, were maintained throughout the Empire, which never 
could be done by his successor. 

Seeing no prospect of doing much good in France, I embarked 
for England. To make any remar-ks on the French character, is 
altogether unnecessary, in a country where it is so well known; 
but there can be no iitipropriety in saying, that France appeared 
to me too barren a soil for Missionary cultivation. Having arri- 
ved at Dover, on a Sabbath morning, just as worship commenced, 
I resolved not to preach that day, and therefore not to attend wor- 
ship in tliat place. Proceeding westward along the coast, I arri- 
ved at Hythe, and as afternoon service had commenced, I en ered 
the Methodist church, believing no person there had ever seen me. 
But at the close of the sermon, the preacher came down, whilst the 
congregation sang a hymn, and advancing to the pew where I sat, 
asked me: **Is not vour name Thompson?" I answer in the affir- 
mative. You must then, said he, induh.e me in the liberty of tell- 
ing the congregation, that you will preach for them at 6 o'clock! 
1 could not refuse. I therefore preached that evening and the 
next, to a very large congregation, and then proceeded onward, 
preaching at the different villages and towns, till I arrived at Nin- 
field in Sussex, where I remained during the spring of 1815, with 
a very affectionate and respectable congregation. 

Now commenced a new epoch in my life and ministry. By 
boarding at the house of a Methodist, in Newton Limavady, Ireland, 
I became a Methcdistin 1812; again, by boarding at the house of 
a Restorationist, I became a Restorationist, in 1815 The process 
was easy and natural to a heart, candid, and warm with the de- 
sire of human happiness — and to a refl«cting mind, the doctrine 
of Universalism, is the logical conclusion, that inevitably follows 
from the premises^ Calvinism and Arminianism: so that all men 
may rest confidently assured, that if the two premises be true and 
correct, the conclusion is just as true and certain as the premises. 
Therefore, if Universalism be not true, Calvinism and Arndni- 
anism must, inevitably, be false and deceptions! 

The Rev. Elhanan Winchester, had successfully labored in 
that vicinity. The conversion of Mr. Vidler and his church to 
Mr. Winchester's religious views, had produced a considerable 
excitement in the neighbourhood of Battle. The genrleuian with 
whom I lived, was a member of Mr. Vidler's congregation The 
first time he introduced the doctrine of Restitution, was when 
walking in his garden one day for amusement, he being a gardener 
by iiccupation, his little daughter having pulled some flowers, he 
thus addressed me: '*Sir. I refer to your decision a certain case, 
which you may think very triflino;, but which I esteem of great 
importance. My little child has offended me by plucking tulips; 

4 



26 MEMOIR ©F THE AUTHOR. 

for the first offence, I rebuked her: anei for the second, 1 heather; 
but she has just now become guilt}^ the third time; shall 1 suffer 
her, to destroy? luy tuiips with impunity? shall 1 take a rod and 
beat her proportionateiy to her age, ability, and crime? or shall I 
seize a pole such as 1 may be able to wield, and beat her while I 
am able? I wait. Sir, for your determination." 

Not aware of his intention, 1 replied. Sir, as a father you will, 
no doubt, choose the medium, to correct in proportion to the 
child's circumstances and not your own. '*0 Sir, said he, ''how 
differently you judge out of the pulpit, from your declarations 
when preaching I In the pulpit you tell me, that if my child of- 
fend, 1 must beat it with as heavy an instrument of torure as I 
am able to use! and that 1 must never desist, or if I do, 1 forfeit 
my honor everlastingly 1" These remarks had a stupifying effect 
upon my mind; and never could 1 rescue my doctrine of endless 
misery from the shock it that moment received. 

i he dialogues of Winchester now fell into my hands; and on 
reading them, the most painful warfare commenced in my mind. 
I saw my arguments so irreparably destroyed, and the opposite 
doctrine to that which 1 had so zealously promulgated, so clearly 
established, that 1 knew not how to conduct. I cast an ay the 
book, resolving I should not suffer myself to be ensnared by all 
the ingenuity of the writer — but again my desire returned* To 
know the fate of man as accurately as possible, appeared highly 
desirable, and meritorious of the deepest research. I again got 
the dialogues and read: and as I read, my mind assented to the 
doctrine. Alas! said l,my ministry is at an end! 1 cannot hold 
this doctrine and preach contrary to my convictions: and having 
changed once, if 1 do so again, 1 shall lose all credit as a minis- 
ter; and still moie especially, it I attempt to announce a doctrine 
so ufipopular, and so universally detested by all denominations. 
But what can 1 do? Though 1 should be ruined i;i the world, I 
cannot resist the evidence! and having so said, I struck the book 
against the wall, and broke the binding in several places! 

Having adopted the doctrine of Restitution, I th«)Ught it dishon- 
est to receive the salary from the congregation, seeing 1 could not 
propagate its views of religious truth. 1 therefore gave notice of 
my desire to visit Scotland, and consequently to be released from 
my charge. Never have I since been so agrt eabiy situate as I 
%vas there; in th^ midst of a rich, beautiful and abundant coun- 
try; in view of the British channel and the delightful scenery of 
the coast. But alas! what is the wo. Id to a discontented mind? 
"What happiness can result from any thing, to a soul conscious of 
delinquency in the performance of duty? Father of lights, 
lead me in th.e way «)f tiuth, and grant me an honest heart to fol- 
low its dictates without hesitation! 

On leaving Ninheld, I saw myself as an ej^ct f r m society. I 
felt considerable distress of mind, and was disposed to utter th^ 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR* %f 

complaints of Jeremiah:* "'vvo is me, that I have been born a man. 
of strife, and a man of contention to the whole earth!" From 
the congregation I received the fuiiowing testimony: — 

"The Rev. John S. Thompson, from France, having preached 
in some of the adjacent towns and villages, was requested to 
visit this place, where he has officiated as Minister for three 
months. As he desires to visit North Britain, we hereby certify, 
that his character, as far as known to us, is becoming the Gospel^ 
and his ministry has been acceptable here." 

THOMAS BONTER, 
Ainjield, May, 1815. P. LINFIELD, 

J. TESTER. 

Here the heat of my devotion to Sectarianism was reduced al- 
most to zero: not because of indifference to religion, but because 
1 could no longer pronounce the Shibboleth of any sect: I was des- 
pised to a deojree by all, and felt, in myself, an equal apathy to the 
pretentions of all: notwithstanding their multifarious manner of 
crying, loJ fiere is Chv^t, and In! he is there. The more I investi- 
gited the doctrines, proposed by the different claimants of ortho- 
doxy and infallibility, the more cause appeared for dissatisfaction? 
and on the other hand, the icy regions of what was called Ration'^ 
al Christianity^ afforded me no encouragement, but rather indi- 
cated such frigidity as excited the apprehension of being frozea 
to death! 

Returning to London, I felt almost no interest in any thing, and 
scarcely visited any of the public places. Neither Palace nor 
Parliament excited in me the least g;low of curiosity. At aa 
early period of my life, I became disgusted with the abuses and 
injustice of the administration in Ireland: and mv father and 
several of my relations being engaged in the rebellion, [ lost all 
attachment to politics; and though severally called to testify alle- 
giance to his Majesty's Government, I never could consent; being 
resolved that if no change should ta«ce place in the affairs of Ire- 
land, I would, at all events, terminate my history, in the United 
States of America. After a short re^^idence at London, suffi- 
cient to show me, what a sink of dissipation that metropolis re- 
ally is, I proceeded onward as far as Sheffield. Finding sufficient 
encouragement here, I remained at Broom HMl *;ic demy^ for 
four months, as teacher of the French and Latin Languages. 

T now became acquainted with N. Phillips, D. D. Minister of 
the Unitarian church, and a very learned and able Divine. His 
sermons appeared to me chef d'oeuvres in Composition and 
Theology: every one which 1 heard, produced in me i ainful re- 
flections, that I had lost so much time among a set of bablil^s 

*Chap. 15. 10. 



.28 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

in tradition, who, instead of being worthy the name of clergymen, 
were only adapted to excite disgust at the religion, which they so 
malapertly attempted to vindicate. If ever heaven let loose lo- 
custs* in human form, to destroy the fruits of the christian vine- 
yard, they were ignorant, proud pretenders to the ministry of the 
Gospel, who eat the flesh and clothed themseives with the wool, but 
fed not the flock of God's inheritance.! A sensible man will be 
ashamed to profess a business, in w hich he has no skill nor adroit- 
ness; but it seems many can excuse both their ignorance and inca- 
pacity, by a pretended obedience to an imperative call from Hea- 
ven! Surely it is high time to a vake out of sleep, and disabuse 
mankind, by delivering them from the influence of so baleful and 
infectious a pestilence. If men believe themselves moved divine- 
ly to the holy office of the ministty, let them show their honesty 
and sincerity, by proper exertions to obtain qualifications. To 
say God will provide them with all things necessary, is as pre- 
sumptuous and absurd as to tell the farmer not to till his field, be- 
cause God has promised both seed time and harvest. J 

During my residence at Sheffield, I read a number of Theolo- 
gical works, chiefly Unitarian, and thereby became convinced of 
the absurdity and impossibility of the doctrine of the Trinity. 
Wardlaw's **Lectures on Socinianism," and Yates' **Vindica- 
tion of Unitarianism," in reply, were perused by me w^ith great 
interest: and I could not but be astonished at the ease and lucidi- 
ty, with which Yates overthrew the most subtle and forcible ar- 
guments ®f Wardlaw. He that reads carefully these two pro- 
ductions, need go no farther to seek evidence, either for or against 
the doctrine of the Trinity. Yates' reply is a standard work. 
It is written on the Arian view, and well adapted for the initiation 
of proselytes to the doctrine of the Divine Unity. Hence I be- 
came an Artan RestorittiouisU and remained invariably so, till at 
Philadelphia, I advanced to Unitarian Universalism about the 
beginning of the year 1823. 

Leaving Sheffield in the beginning of November, 1815, I pro- 
ceeded to Edinburgh, the Capital of Scotland, and the nio?«t pic- 
turesque city in the world. On entering from the west, by Prince 
it. having the New town on the left, and the view of the Castle and 
the Old town on the right, the thoughts are raised towards the 
inconceivable grandeur and sublimity of another world, for in 
vain do we look for any thing similar in the present! From the 
Castle, looking drwn upon the New City, which for regularity is 
unrivalled in the world, (Philadelphia itself being a motley hud- 
dle in comparison,) turning to the right, and viewing the gro- 
tesque irregularity of the Old City, whose lofty buildings, some 
of which are fourteen or even sixteen stories in height, are piled 
on irregular craggy rocks, aspiring one over another like the ap- 
pearance of the Alps, and the view terminated by abrupt perpen- 
* Re7. 9. 1^12. t Ez. 34. I— 11. | Gen. 8. 22. 



ifEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, S9 

iilicular mountains, projecting towards tlie city: looking forward 
between the old and new towns, about two nules from the Castle, 
on ^eith, the second sea port in Scotland, and the wide spread 
Firth of F.u'th, bespangled with its hundreds of ships of all size 
and tonnage, the mind labours in vain to express in language* the 
impressions made by the surrounding scenery. 

x\greeably to my intention in visiting Scotland, I entered James' 
University, as a fourth year student of Literature and Hebrew; 
and of course, belonged to the Natural Philosopby Class, at that 
time. exp<'rtly conducted by Professor Playfair, the most learned 
Mathematician and Naturalist ever Edinburgh could boast: his 
''Outlines of Natural Philosophy," used as a text book for the 
class, his "Euclid," ''Theory of the Earth,'' and other writings, 
are vouchers for his superiority in the above departments. The 
chair of the Greek class was respectfully filled by Dunbar, whose. 
edition of Moore's Gretk Grammar, is the best student's guide in 
existence. The Moral Class was also well conducted by Profes- 
sor Brown, whose work on Philosophy does credit both to^ himself 
and the University. The Chemistry Class was crowdedly attend- 
ed, the audience being seldom less than one thousand. The wor- 
thy and very eloquent Professor, Dr. Hope, is too Philanthropic 
and liberal to allow of any restriction on admittance: the doors 
stand open for all who feel disposed to enter; and indeed the at- 
traction is neither small nor ineffectual. Assisted by two expert 
Chemists, the experiments designed to illustrate the subjects of 
the lectures, are very gjrand and brilliant. 

This is a justly far famed Medical Institution; the students in 
that department, are therefore most numerous. The Monroes 
have maintained a respectable standing as Anatomical Lecturers; 
and Mr. Kife is so experience I a demonstrator, that he appears 
as skilful in the use of the knife as the men of Benjamin were in 
that of the sling:* that is, he can cut a man to a hair's breadth and 
not miss. But enough has been said on this subject. The Uni- 
versity is worthy of all praise, if we except the laxity of its dis- 
cipline, and t\ie hereditary nature of its Professor's claims. The 
Library consists of about 70,000 volumes, to which on paying- 
two dollars, annually, every student receives a card ot admit- 
tance, bearing the following inscriotion, except the variation of 
the date and name:— "Joannes S. Thompson, civis Bibliothecae 
Academiae Edinburgenae a die 1-^ Octobr. 1815. ad diem 12 Octo- 
br. 1816." And on paying abont twenty dollars he obtains a 
similar card or ticket of admittance to one of the classes, and so 
on of the rest. 

The nu>nber of students at Edinburgh, varv from 9500 to 3000, 

of all ages and countries. Nor is it stiange to see the youth of 

fourteen and the hoary head of seventy 3"ears, beat^no- up to the 

;Sanae class, with the same design fuH 'n view. At Glasgow and 

■^See Judges 20, 16. 



SjO MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOki 

St. Andraws, the students wear scarlet gowns, but at Edinburgh 
there is no badge of distinction. As to the particular character of 
the Scotch Universities, we can safely recommend Glasgow for 
systematical dijscipline and eminence in Philosophy; Edinburgh 
for liberality and Medicine; and St. Andrews for retirement and 
Theology. The annual expense will be about SlOO at St An^ 
drews, S-00 at Glasgow, and §^300 at Edinburgh. The Scotch 
Universities exceed all others in Philosophy, but they cannot come 
into competition with Dublin, Oxford, or Cambridge, in Mathe- 
matics and Languages. 

At Edinburgh I became acquainted with the Rev. T, S. Smith, 
author of ** Illustrations of the Divine Government," who was 
th^n a fellow-student at the University, and Minister of the Uni'| 
tarian congregation at St. Andrew's church, near the North 
Bridge. In stature, he is a small man, but of a great mind, and 
an excellent preacher. His congregation, having borne the name, 
Un I versa list, for several years, changed it for a more popular, 
and indeed in Scotland a more suitable appellation. 

Before the visit of Winchester to England, little had been done 
for Universalism in that country, since the days of Cromwell. 
The scheme of Relly * appeared too visionary, to excite serious 
attention, on the part of liberal and rational christians; and the 
enthusiastic and traditionist were too fond of a Pharasaic Para- 
dise and a Mahometan Hell. The preaching of Winchester at- 
tracted the notice of many respectable Unitarians, whose candoi: 
made conviction easy, and confession natural. Several of the 
Unitarian clergy soon began to publish their accession to the 
scheme of the '"Merciful Doctors,"t The Universalists reciproca- 
ted the favor: and soon after the return of W^inchester to Ameri- 
ca, all the Universalists, with a few exceptions, advanced to meet 

* About 1760, James Rellj, who commenced his career under the patron- 
ag*^ of Vvhitfield, "ended," says Southey, "in forming- a heresy of his owu, 
which had the merit at least, of beinij a humaner scheme than that of his Mas- 
ter, however untenable in other respects. Shocked at the intolerable notion 
of reprobation, and yet desirous of holding the tenet of election, he fancied 
that sin was to be considered as a disease, for which the death of our Bedeem- 
er was the remedy: and that, as evil had been introduced into human nature 
by the first Adam, who was of the earth, earthly, so must it be expelled by 
the second, who is from Heaven, and therefore Heavenly. Pursuing this no- 
tion, he taught that Christ, as a Mediator, was united to mankind, and by 
his obedience and sufferings, had as fully restored the human race to the Di- 
vine favor, as if all had obeyed and suffered in their own persons. So he 
preached a finished salvation, which included the final restitution of all fallen 
intelhgences." See Life of Wesley, vol. 2. p. 229. 

We have applied the appellation "visionary," and Southey the epithet 
"heresy," to the scheme of Kelly; and fear that some other may add as a 
characteristic "licentious," before the description be complete. Belly was 
assisted in England by Mr. Cudworth; and his system was introduced into 
America by John Murray, about the time of the declaration of Independence. 
• f A name given to the Uairersalists ef the third centurv. 



\ 

MEMOIR ©F THE AUTH©S. SI 

their Unitarian brethren, and adopted their name. This recipro- 
city of liberal sentiments, was productive of very happy effects. 
The warmth of the Universalist, invigorated the benumbed limbs 
of the Unitarian destructionist; and the coolness and deliberation 
of the Unitarian, modulated the effervescence of Universalist en- 
thusiasm. Hence arose what has been called the ''New School of 
Unitarianism," which like the New Testament, excelling the Old 
in glory,* rapidly accumulates disciples, and threatens the Old 
School, with d practical applicacion of its own doctrine, namely, 
annihiiutionJ 

In the Spring of 1816, I returned to England, and taught the 
French Language, in Kendal and Lancaster, during that yearj 
nut beiag able to preach, because of the unsettled state of my 
religious opinions. The L^nitarians were willing to encourage 
me, though I differed from them in many things, but the Metho- 
dists were unwilling that I should preach among them, without 
entire conformity, at least, in public: for I had then, and some 
time after, so many doubting brethren among the Methodists, as 
would have made public censure, for disbelief of the Trinity or 
endless misery, an unsafe experiment. Indeed, so well was the 
doctrine of Restitution received among many of the Methodists, 
at that time, that several of the Preachers had ventured to defend 
it in their public discourses. The doctrine of the Divine vSonship, 
being strongly opposed by Dr. Clarke, several of the leading 
Preachers, such as Benson, Watson, and Moore, had run into 
the opposite extreme, so far as to publish sentiments purely Ari- 
an, and consequently not very remote from my own. 

I was now strongly importuned to join the established religion, 
as being the most liberal, and indeed so it was, if liberality mean 
indifference, for it was of little importance, whether a man were 
a Deist, a Frinitarian, a Unitarian, a Universalist, a Protestant, 
or a Catholic, provided his pride, interest, or indifference, inclined 
him to the establishment. There being, however, no mention of 
endless misery^ in the creeds of the National Church, every Cler- 
gyman is at liberty to preach Restoration, or damnation, just as 
he pleases. But to join the establishment, I could not conseot, 
there being so much idolatrous nonsense, in its prayers, and so 
much an ti -christian hierachy in its discipliue: nothing being clear- 
er in mathematical demonstration, than the total repugnancy of 
episcopacy, in all its forms, to the plain and perspicuous instruc- 
tions of Chiist to his disciples, when they contended for the mas- 
tery,* However, as I could then faithfully admit the doctrine 
of the Nicean creed, and all that Bishop Bull had written in its 
defence, I published "A Vindication of the Deity and Atonement 
of Jesus, and a refutation of the Calvinistic and Socinian here- 
sies;" the first edition of which wa-* nearly all sold in two weeks 
after it came from the press: and was well received by the mem- 
* See Luke 9. 48. and 22. f?4-^28. 



S2 MEMOIR €JF THE AUTHOlEt. 

bers of the established church, and more especially by the Metli-^ 
odists in general. 

This publication produced a movement among the dry bones,* 
and received two replies The one from a Calvinist Minister, na- 
med Fierce, vv^hich was a most foul and abusive production, enti- 
tled, ''Six Letters to the Rev. John S. Thompson." The other by 
a Unitarian Minister, Joh Hamsun^ entitled, "-^The Testimony 
of Scripture for the Unity and Supremacy of God." This was a 
well written, temperate, and argumentative publication, worthy 
the pen and heart of its learned author. t 

These publications elicited several others, and the controversy 
continued for about one year; towards the close of which, I aj»;aia 
published: *'A Second Vindication of the Deity and Atonement 
of Jesus, including testimonies of the most celebrated writers, 
from the commencement of the Christian era to the present time.'^ 
This production was soon pronounced an Arian heresy, and there- 
fore proved offensive to my friends in general. The offence was 
augmented by the followingnotice at the end: ^*There will soon be 
published, a discourse on the restitution of all things, exhibiting 
the benevolence of God, in the grand scheme of Divine Provi- 
dence, by the Rev. John S. Thompson." 

My honesty in expressing my sentiments, nearly destroyed my 
fellowship with the whole body of professing christians, and caus- 
ed me much bitterness. I appeared almost as an isolated individ- 
ual, feeling no interest in any party, nor almost in any terrene 
object. The subject of religion seemed to me to wear a gloojny 
picture. For a time I desisted from every religious meeting 
whatever, and for several mon hs, dreaded insanity. My applica- 
tion to study was inexpressibly intense, I never slept more than 
about two or three hours. The Deity )f Jesus, the immortality of 
the soul, and some other subjects, continually kept my mind in 
excitement. Having adopted Materialism,{)n the Priestleyan plan, 
I could not admit the existence of spirits in our world; f'.)r all an- 
tiquity supposed spirits to have been originally men: but if there 
had been ao resurrection, there could be no human spirits. 

I will now proceed to relate things, just as 1 have before d )ne, 
agreeably to the views and impressions I then had; leaving every 

*Ez. 37. 7. f This gontleman died at Preston, Lancashire, remarkablv sud- 
den, a-id as his name was used in some of the public papers for a certain pur- 
pose, after his death, I cannot but add a word tobi&memorv. 

Mr. Haivison was orepaiing- a new Dictionary for the Press, and whilst 
writinc the word Suhpcena, he f^dl dead at bis dssii ! Some said it was a judge- 
ment for his persevering zeal in belialf of Unitarianism; both he and his 
worthv predecessor having- taught a theolog-ica] class: but he was liable to 
a kind of catalepsy, and whilst in my presence, on a visit at the bousp of a 
learned friend, Mr. .John Thompson, lie <ell down apparently dead, at the ta- 
ble. I presume when writinar the word Svhpoena, \:\-< disorder had returned,, 
nnd falling eitb.er with violence, he died, or by after neg-lect, he suffocated? 
Ho was an uprig-ht, well conductGd, and able Minister, 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 



one to form his own opinion. I acknowledge ray mind was in a 
state of ^reat excitement, at tke time 1 had those extraordinary 
impressions; bu^ it did nat then seem to me, nor does it yet, that 
the degree of excitement was adequate to the phenomena. I 
awoke one night, and heard a considerable noise in my room. I 
listened carefully for some time, and the sound was that of a thou- 
sand pens, writing in great haste what was dictated. 1 heard a 
voice very distinctly saying:— -**In all your writings, be careful to 
represent Jesus as only the instrument of God in all he does." I 
immediately interrupted, by exclaiming: '^silence, I'll not believe 
one of you." The noise immediately stopped, and I was often 
afterwards sorry, t'hat I had interrupted the dictation. 

I examined, -but there was no person in the room, the door be- 
ing locked, and none had yet arisen in the house. Not long after, 
sleeping in the same room, I awoke by pressure, which removed 
immediately on awaking. I began to reflect whether it was a 
dream, or an external force applied to my body. AVhilst I doubt- 
ed, some being took hold of my hands, and pressed them with vi- 
olence, which excited in me great surprise. My hands were let 
loose, but in one minute, they were again seized, with renewed 
violence. I the'J cried: "let me loose! I believe! do not injure 
me! lam entirely satisfied of your existence!" The pressure on 
my hands was immediately removed, and I then felt greatly agita- 
ted, and tossed in my bed. In two minutes after, my hands 
Avere seized, a third time: I then complained loudly, but in a 
minute of time, I was again set at liberty. I leaped on the floor, 
determined that I would make full proof, whether any person had 
got into my room; though I believed that no man could apply so 
much strength, as I had experienced on my hands. The first 
thing I did was to examine the door, which I found as I had left 
it, locked, with the key in the inner side. I took the key out of 
the door, and again trying it, found it fast. I then groped all 
over the room, but found nobody, I retired to my bed, placing the 
key under me, and waiting for the light of day. 

After a series of conflicts, too painful to describe, I came to the 
following resolutions: — ''As I aq;ree with the Methodists concer- 
ning the Divine origin of Christ, the efficacy of his atonement, 
the conditionality of salvation, and the indescribable torment of 
the wicked after death, I shall preach accordingly; going with 
them as far as I can, and remaining silent on subjects of differ- 
ence. If there be less of hell, in another world, than many have 
imagined, there can arise no unfortunate mistake; and as to the 
Trinity, little now is said of it in public preaching: I will there- 
fore submit." Though I resumed preachinj*;, vigorously, among 
the Methodists, yet t never varied in my opinions, nor did I ever 
give them reason to believe, that my religious sentiments were 
otherwise than they really were. Moreover, when afterwards I 
was examined before a meeting of preachers, I confessed my 



S4 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

opinions had undergone no change, in approximation to theivs: and 
on a motion being made to oppose my preaching, till I should see 
iit to conform, a warmth of discussion ensued which excited 
alarm. The tumult, however, was soon quashed, but nothing was, 
nor could be done in relation to mj case. 

On leaving this part of England, I obtained recommendatory 
letters, from all the professional gentlemen of eminence, in that 
district: a great part of whom had been my pupils, during my 
residence among them. On offering as a candidate for the direction 
of a Grammar School, in the southern district of Lancaster, the 
following certificate is one of those, which were then presented 
to support my claims. 

^'To the Trustees of the Grammar School Filling, Lancashire. 

Gentlemen, 

Understanding that Mr. John S. Thompson intends to offer 
himself as a candidate for the Mastership of the Grammar School 
of Pilling, we beg leave to offer our testimony in support of his 
application. We have been, for some time, in the habit of leceiv- 
ing lessons from him in the French language, in which he appear- 
ed to us to display great ability; and proved himself not only well 
acquainted with the French, but with the Latin and Greek class- 
ics We have reason, likewise, to believe him possessed of other 
qualifications, requisite for conducting the business of a school, 
such as a knowledge of commercial accounts. Mathematics, &c. 
We can further testify, that he has a very happy method of com- 
municating his knowledge to others; and that from every thing we 
have observed of his character and attainments, he seems to be a ve- 
ry proper person to be entrusted with the education ©f youth; be- 
ing exemplary in his conduct, and industrious in his habits. Should 
you be pleased to appoint him to the situation, we have not the 
least doubt, but that he will prove himself worthy of the confi- 
dence reposed in him. 

We are Gentlemen, 

Your Obed't humble serv'ts, 

JOHN BEETHOM, Clerk, M. A. 
Head Master of the Grammar School, Lancaster. 
GEORGE MORELAND, Clerk, 
Usher of the Grammar School, and Chaplain of the 
Castle, Lancaster. 

ALLAN BRISCOE, Clerk, M. A. 
Lancaster, July 30, 1817. Lancaster. 

Not succeeding in my application, chiefly through apprehensions 
arising from my ministerial character, I obtained a situation 
equally agreeable to my mind, in the Academy at Ormskirk, as 
teacher of the French and Latin Languages. This institution is 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 55* 

superior to some of the French and American Colleges, and was 
attended by a number of students from America and the West In- 
dies. There is a good Library, an excellent boarding house, a 
fine Orrery and Philosophical Apparatus, and from six to eight re- 
spectable teachers. The Episcopal church at this place, has an 
odd appearance. It was built by two sisters, the one of whom 
would have a steeple, the other a tower: and possessing all the 
ambition to govern, peculiar to the sex, both a tower and a stee- 
ple were built, which attract thj attention of travellers,* and oc- 
casion a frequent repetition of the story. 

Here I continued my Theological inquiries, but having expe- 
rienced great distress from the result of former investigations, I 
felt disposed to relinquish the ministry. ladeed, the years 1816 
and i817» were productive of such painful experience, as render- 
ed life itself unsavory. On the Sabbath, I was often unable to en- 
dure preaching; it generally appeared to me a disgusting medley 
of irreligious nonsense, or a cold, dead, speculative descanting 
on certain abstract parts of ethics; and no medium could be ob- 
tained. If I attended with the professed orthodoxy of the times, 
they were all enthusiastic contenders for what they neither knew 
themselves-, nor ivere capable of making others understand: and 
the Unitarians of that district appeared perfect antipods to the 
orthodox, being disposed only to admit of an Epicurean God, 
whom they placed as an idle spectator, in some infinitely remote 
Empyrean. 

Fearing that I should fall into Deism, I obtained Leland's "Re- 
view of Deistical Writers;" and in order to give the work full in- 
fluence on my mind, I abridged the whole three octavo volumes, 
which I interlarded with remarks and arguments from other wri- 
ters, on the evidence of the Chr'stian Religion. This exercise 
had a happy effect; it brought home to my heart the blessed reli- 
gion of Jesus, which will ever profit by close investigation, and 
triumph in every trial and in every comparison. 1 thank my ex- 
alted Redeemer, that I never after felt any doubts, as to his di- 
vine mission, and the celestial origin of his holy doctrine. Truly 
it is the Gospel of the blessed God — it is life and immortality-^ 
it is the kingdom of heaven. 

Desirous of relaxation in study, I changed the subject. I got 
an excellent copy of Baron Cuvier's '•^Lecons d\^natomie Compa- 
r^e," in five volumes octavo, with a hundred and fifty engravings. 
This is undoubtedly the best and most complete work on Anato- 
my, ever published to the world. All other productions of the 
kind, I ever saw, were comparatively boyish scribbles. The wri- 
tings of Richerand, Abernethy, Lawrence, Good, Cooper, Cu- 
vier, and T. Thomson, are the best Medical productions of the 
preseiyt age. I proceeded to the anatomy of animals, and became 
famihar with the use of the scalpel. No science tends more pow- 
erfully to impress on the mind, the superintendence of the Deity, 



S6 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

than the study of Anatomy. Indeed, God is more distinctly 
s^en in the human structure and animal economy, than in all his 
other works. 

In 1819, I removed to Liverpool, the second town for wealth, 
trade and commerce in the British dominions. Its shipping, pub- 
lic buildings, squares, markets, docks &c. are superior to any in 
the United StiUes, but New- York and Liverpool bid fair to rival 
each other for many years. Here I followed my profession, teach- 
er of La n^'uuges, and preached occasionally. No event of par- 
ticular interest occurred at this place, except the progress I mada 
in Medicine and Theology. I attended the Anatomical Lectures 
of Dr Formby, and had serions intentions of betaking myself to 
to the habitual practice of Physic, which I had occasionally exer- 
cised for benevolent purposes. Possessing opportunities of a fa- 
vorable nature for the prosecution of Biblical Criticism, I appli- 
ed closely to this important branch of Theology. I obtained an 
Arabic Bible, and Syriac New Testaments and comn^enced with 
enthusiasm, the study of these ancient and important languages. 
Having raad-e some progress, the beautiful Polyglot of Jay, print- 
ed at Paris, in nine volumes folio, fell into my hands, and I spent 
some time, in collating my Bible with the Arabic version of that 
splendid and valuable work. But much as Jay had done for the 
Christian world, the immense labors of Walton exceed those of 
the French Editor, as far as the light of the sun transcends that 
reflected by the pale queen of nii^ht. The labors of Origen, in 
the third century, were successfully imitated by Walton, in the 
seventeenth. The London Polyglot is an everlasting monument 
of industry, and boasts as great pre-eminence over all other 
works of the kind, as the vast city which gave it birth, over all 
other cities in the world. 

Though I had access to immense collections of books, I could 
no longer read the confused, uHmeaning piles of religious rubbish, 
so much applauded by the christian world in general. Indeed I 
can safo'y say, that, for seven long tedi<ius years, I had been un- 
able to obtain a single new idea in theology, from the many thou- 
sands of volumes which had passed threugh my hands: if I ex- 
cept a few, which were generally esteemed heretical and danger- 
ous, probably because they differed from the numerous productions 
of uiittiinkins: mimics. How men can be capable of a sound un- 
derstanding and moral honesty, and yet still continue to pester 
the world with useless bocks, scarcely diff'ering except in title- 
page and manner of writing, is to me a paradox. But it is a 
painful fact, frequently experienced by the student, that the read- 
ing of a thousand volumes, will often add nothing to what he has 
derived from the perusal of ten, except a penitential sorrow for 
the loss of so much labor and time. Most certainly ignorance, 
not learning, is the greatest cause in the multiplication of books, 
tor thousands become authors to tell only that which had been much 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 37 

better told by another, of whose labors they were ignorant, by 
reason of their limited acquaintance with what had been previous- 
ly done. That man, therefore who adds to the number of books 
in existence without condensing the information of many, or in- 
creasiiiji: the stock of knowledge: or who publishes a book merely 
to kiil tiine, is a nuisance to society and is not free from impiety 
towards Gjd, and injustice towards his fellow men! But alas! 
popularity is generally the index of ignorance and vulgarity, and 
the maxim of the day is, and has almost invariably been, ^'igno- 
rance is the Mother of Devotion:" whilst the fact is, that igno- 
rance is only the parent of Superstition, and perfect knowledge 
the cause of true devotion! 

Meatiwhiie, I communicated to "The Christian Reflector," 
some papers which were published over the signature T, and were 
designed to disprove the doctrine of the Trinity and tlie wor- 
ship of Jesus. Indeed from the summer of 1815, 1 differed, so 
essentially, from all sects, as not to have, consistently, ranked 
among the admirers of any system of religious opinion. Hence 
I was blamed for unsteadfastness and soiuetimes for dissimouda- 
tion; but to the latter charge my heart plead, "not guilty." Not- 
withstanding I labored for the last year at Liver pool, very ear- 
nestly in the cause of Methodism, for the warmth of devotion and 
zeal, co'nmon to that sect, was adapted to my gratification and 
enjoyment, though many things, in doctrine and practice, were 
very offensive. 

Here I shall call the attention of the reader to an observation of 
some importance. I have s.ud, that from the time I left Sheffield 
in 1815, I remained an Arian Restarationist, and 1 doubt not but 
thousands firmly believe, that when a man disbelieves the Deifey of 
Jesus and endless misery, he loses his religion. But my soul is a 
witness to the contrary. I enjoyed as much zeal, love, devotion, 
divine influence, and was as great a revivalist, and as successful 
in the ministry, after my belief of the above opinions, as I ever 
was in all my life: and of this fart I could call many thousands 
to bear testimony. If ever I knew the love of Christ, I experi- 
enced that love as really and as fully, when I was the Unitarian, 
as when I assented to the Trinitarian view of the Redeemer's 
person. O yes, my soul magnifies the glory of his name and tri- 
umphs of his grace: and I fear not that he will lead me in the 
green pastures, and afterwards receive me to glory. 

Methodism is manifestly on the decline in England, and through- 
out the British dominions. It is divided into many parts, which 
mutually threaten each other's ruin: and if the language of Christ 
be true, that a kingdom, divided against itself, cannot stand, we 
may look for the overthrow of Methodism at no remote period. 
What is called the old connexion, as yet remains the most numer- 
ous; and has adopted the name of fVestefjnn Methodists: though 
if there be a contradiction in language, this is one; for the di- 



38 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, 

rections of Wesley, as to the management of their external, and I 
may add internal policy, have been completely disregarded. The 
second division is generally called EMhamites, after the name of 
their leader, who endeavored to establish something like Presby- 
terian discipline among them. The third class is denominated 
Independents, from the form of church government, which they 
have adopted. The fourth assumes the name Pnmitive Method: sts, 
but they are more generally known by the appellation of Ranters. 
Each of the three last mentioned classes, may have about 200 
preachers, and is rapidly increasing; for in proportion as the iron 
rod of oppression, wielded by the autocrats of the old connexion, 
is felt by the sheep of their pasture, they frequently leap the fence, 
and seek refuge among the more humble partisans of a similar 
name and profession. The fifth class has adopted the name of 
Cliurcli Methodists^ who are headed by a Mr. Averil, formerly a 
Rector of the National Es-tablishment. This party numbers about 
20,000 members, who claim to be the only true Methodists: and 
indeed they are the only class who follow the direction of Wes- 
ley: ''•never to separate from the established Church.'''' The sixth 
division is distinguished by the name of Unitarian Methodists, 
who hold the discipline and many of the opinions of Wesley, but 
who reject the Trinity, and the Deity of Jesus. These have al- 
so their circuits and preachers, and are fast augmenting their 
ranks in different parts of England. All these six divisions have 
sprung, of late years, from the followers of Wesley, and each 
has its numerous adherents: but truth and experience bids me say, 
all of them have more or less facility in the useful arts of mutual 
backbiting and slander: for Methodists, generally speaking, seem 
to believe it not only innocent, but sometimes virtuous, to lie /or 
the g'lory of God. May God convert them, there is no denomina- 
tion in the world, that more needs conversion in this respect, than 
the people called Methodists. Indeed, there seems to be a radi- 
cal defect in the system; and a base talkativeness, appears a nat- 
ural result of telli}-g experiences, four fifths of the members being 
under necessity to practice deceit. Nor can it escape the notice 
of the careful observer, that wherever fanaticism prevails, truth 
and morality are proportionately disregarded! Ax hour of peni- 
TENce can atone for a world of iniquity, and uncivilized nature 
grows in such a soil, unmolesied by the arts of improvement! 

In the spring of 1822, I resolved to emigrate to America, of 
which I had thought for some years. I was so dissatisfied with 
all creeds, that I determined to renounce subn ission to all human 
compositions of the kind. This is not said to induce the rejection 
of church authority; every church has a right to form its own 
creed, ?!greeably to what it conceives to be the import and mean- 
ing of the christian doctrine and example; and this right certain- 
ly may be very lawfully extended to the exclusion of all who do 
not conform to its constitution: but no censure should be connec- 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 39 

ted with resistance to the authority of any church or society; be- 
cause all being alike free, have equal right to adopt or reject 
any form of creed or discipline, which may be deemed incompat- 
ible with the word of God, or the Apostolic example. Hence it 
occurred, that on leaving Liverpool, 1 neither sought nor obtained 
testimonials, from any religious denomination whatever, being re- 
solved to remain neutral among the religionists of America, at 
least for one year. Notwithstanding the Superintendents of the 
different Academies, readily offered their testimonies on behalf 
of my moral character, and qualifications as a Teacher; and these 
I considered entirely sufficient for my purpose. Of them the fol- 
lowing are inserted as specimens. 

"I have been acquainted with Mr. John S. Thompson for near 
two years, and believe him fully competent to teach those branchij 
es of Literature which he professes: 1 have likewise heard of the 
rapid progress of his pupils, and have always considered him a 
Literary Character.'' 

GEORGE SILVERSIDES, 
Master of Kent Square ^Academy, Liverpool. 
^pril^2, 1822. 

*'We certify that Mr. John Samuel Thompson has been a 
Teacher of English, French, and the Classics, in Liverpool, du- 
ring the three last years; and that his moral and professional char- 
acter has been truly respectable." 

FRANCIS MURROW, A. M. 

Lime-st. .Academy. 
LEWIS LYNE, 
Liverpool, April 2S, 1822. St. James-st. Academy. 



^^Great George Place ^Academy, Liverpool, April 26th^ 1822. 
Dear Sir, 

Understanding that you have it in contemplation to leave Liv- 
erpool, I embrace this opportunity of stating to you my fervent 
wishes for your future health and prosperity; and also how per- 
fectly I was satisfied with your Conduct and Abilities, when I em- 
ployed you in your professional capacity. — It will always afford 
me pleasure to hear of your welfare — and I hope you will be for- 
tunate enough to obtain a station where your Abilities will be 
brought into action: in which case, I feel convinced you will do 
yourself great Credit. 

W ith the greatest Respect, 

I am, Dear Sir, 

Your Obed't Serv't, 
Rev. John S. Thompsoxv* LAWRENCE FROST.'"- 



40 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

Leaving Liverpool, I visited the North of Ireland, but it seem- 
ed to have lost all its former charms: all those fascinating endear- 
ments, wliich once aiForded delight to my youthful hours! Ah! 
seldom will the place of birth answer the expectations of him that 
returns, after a long ab^^ence, hoping to recal past sensations 
which have fled forever. Reflecting on the seasons that were 
gone, and viewing the scenery, which could charm no more, I re- 
collected the appropriate lines of Thomson: 

Ah! whither now are fled 

Those dreams of greatnesb? Those unsolid hopes 

Of happiness! Those longings after fame? 

Those restless caie^-? Those busy bustliug days? 

Those gay-spent festive nights? Those veering thoughts? 

Lost between good and ill, that sharM thy life? 

Ail now are vanished! Virtue sole survives, 

Immmortal, never- failing friend of man, 

His guide to happinesi'. — 

Having bid adieu to my friends in the north, I returned to Bel- 
fast, and spent a short time with my respected friend, James 
Thompson, A. M. Professor of Mathematics in the Academical 
Institution. Here, I received proof that Ireland was not in a 
state of preparation for receiving the instructions of a liberal and 
rational religion. A gentleman from the University of Halle had 
advertised to deliver a course of Lectures, on the Mistranslations 
of the English Bible; and for no other offence, was seized by the 
Mayor and cast into prison, no doubt, in his Exceliency-s opinion, 
to suffer for the crime of blasphemy. But the truly patriotic ed- 
itor of the Irishman, and a few other^ gentlemen of distinction, 
presented a petition to the Lord Lieutenant, and had him remo- 
ved from the fanatics of Belfast, by a habeas corpus, to Dublin, 
where he was soon acquitted; and as soon as dismissed, he retur- 
ned by mail with all haste to Belfast, and commenced his course 
of Lectures, with double the audience he c ould otherwise have 
obtained. He spoke the Hebrew and Arabic, with all the facility 
of his native Germ.an; Lectured from a Polyglot Bible; and read 
and translated the Syriac, Chaldee, Greek, and Latin, with ama- 
zing ease and familiarity. I attended a few of the Lectures, and 
vpas perfectly satisfied with the evidence he adduced to maintain 
his allegations against the English Translators. He certainly suc- 
ceeded to expose the impropriety of applying Isaiah 9. 6, and Jer. 
23. 6, and several similar passages, as prophecies of Christ; and 
read Isaiah 9. 6, the Mighty God shall call him, &c. I would 
have been pleased to have heard the whole course, but could not 
delay; having taken passage in the ship Edward Downes, of Bel- 
fast, Captain Russel, bound for St. Andrews, New Brunswick. 

On the evening of May 27, 1822, the signal guns were fired, 
and our ship moved down the bay, having about 300 emigrants 
on board. The next morning, immediately after breakfast, we 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 41 

gave our sails to the wind, and left our native shores, our coun- 
try, and friends, never again to be viewed by a vast maj lity of 
the passengers! Here I cannot forbear inserting the following 
lines:— 

There is a land, of every land the pride, 

Eelov'd by Heaven, o'er all the woH' beside; 

Where brig-hter suns dispense serener light. 

And milder moons imnara'Jise the ni»-ht; 

A laud of heaufy, virtue, valor, truth, 

Time-tutor'd ag-e, and love-exalted youth; 

The wandering mariner whrse 636 explores 

The wealthiest isles. the most encha'iting- shcr'^ss, 

Views not a realm so beautiful and fair, 

Nor breathes the spirit of a purer air. 

In every clime the magr,et of his soul, 

Touch'd by renaembr nee, trembles to that pole; 

For in this land of Heaven's peculiar g-race, 

The heritage of Nature's noblest race. 

There is a spot of earth supremely blest, 

A dearer sweeter spot than all the rest. 

Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside 

His sword and sceptre, pageantry nnd pride, 

While in his soften'd looks benignly blend 

The sire, the fon, the husband, father, friend: 

Here woman reigns; the mother, daughter, wife. 

Strews with fresh flowers the narr-ow v/ay of life; 

In the clear heaven of her delighted eye, 

An angel guard of love and graces lie; 

Around her knees domestic duties meet, 

And fire-side pleasures gambol at her feet. 

Where shall this land this spot of earth be found? 

Art thou a man? a patriot? look around: 

O, thou shalt tind, howe'er thy footsteps roam. 

That land thy country, and that spot thy home! 

Whan opposite the Castle of Carrickfergus, we fired a salute of 
six guf\s and gave as many cheers: but as the opinion was, no 
doubt, that we were liberty-men, rejoicing in the prospect of soon 
attaining a better country, we received no other answer than that 
of sullen silence. Owing to the direction of the winds, we were 
forced to take a northern course; and in the beginning of the first 
night at sea, a brisk gale arose from the south, which cau;sed the 
ship to heave on the proud billows, and produced many unpleas- 
ant sensations in the passengers. On the next morning a strong 
w nd blew from the south-west. The heavens were robed in dis- 
mal ^loom; and our vessel began to ship seas, which ran several 
fret high over our decks. Great God! how awful are the wonders 
of the deep to the minds of those, wfio are thus assailed, by the 
menacing surg;es, on the commencement of a first voyage! The 
language of Virgil,* Horace,! and the Psalmist^ alternately oc- 
curred to my mind. 

*JEneid 1. I. 81—00. fOde third. tPs. 107. 23—25?. 

6 



4,'2 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, 

The rag-ing winds, with mixed confusion roar. 
Aad roll the foaming- billows to the shore. 
The cables crack, the sailofs' fearful cries 
Ascend; and sable night involves the skies; 
And heaven itself is ravish'd from our eyes. 
Loud peals of thunder from the poles ensue; 
Then flashing- fires the transient lig-ht renew; 
The face of thir'gs a frig-htful imag-e bears; 
And present death in various forms appears. 
Then "thrice and four times happy those" we cried, 
'•That on their native lands, before their parents died!" 

Dryden- 

Or oak, or brass, with tripple fold. 
Around that daring mortal's bosom roll'd, 

Who first to the wild ocean's rage 
Launched the frail bark, and heard the winds engage. 

What various forms of deatli could fright 
The man, who viewed with fixed, unshaken sight, 

The floating monsters, waves inflam'd. 
And rocks for shipwreck'd fleets, ill-fam'd? 

No laws, or human or divine, 
C-an the presumptuous race of man confine. ' "Francis, 

Who on the ruthless waves in ships descend, 
A "id with the fragile keel the billows rend; 
Tie works of God behold, in dread surprise, 
When storms rush forth, and heaving surges rise. 
Aloft to Heaven, the briny swell extends, 
Then towardfi the dark abyss, it downward tends* 
Their m^^iting souls confus'd, assail the skies. 
All rend the Heavens, with vows and hopeless cries. 
In lulgcnt mercy, always prompt to save. 
Rebukes the tempest, calms the raging wave. 
The haven desired, they greet with loud acclaim, 
And Paeans raise to God the Makers name. 

For three day& I neither eat nor drank, but lay vrith awful bo- 
dinj^s, expecting a watery grave, and indeed so extreme was my 
sickness, that death seemed to lose its unfriendly aspect. I 
coald not understand, at that time, how it happened, that I felt 
n » sensation of hu'iger; but on reflecting on the subject, discov- 
ered that frequent voaiitings, by clearing the stoma --h of the gas- 
tric juice; will defer the sensation of hunger, and protract, for 
several days, the termination of life. Of this fact, all men should 
be fully apprised, seeing in time of shipwreck, or other similar 
seasons of restriction, life might be preserved till relief could be 
obtained. During three weeks, I was incessantly sick; and was 
therefore re<luced almost to a skeleton. The Captain and Mate 
were very huaiane and attentive, but the number ot the sick soon 
be''\ n ' 8 ) great, as to preclude particular attention. 

Now fell t ) tie dust all my late resolutions about preaching. 
I saw myself placed in a most important station. On the vast 
deep with 300 souls, at the mercy of the winds and waves, and 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 4S 

exposed to imminent danger, unseen, but not the less probable. 
A great part of the emigrants were without the form, and veiy 
few enjoyed the power of Godliness. 1 beheld myself as David, 
in the wilderness of Judea, and my soul id^e his, l(»nged to appear 
before God, in the assemblies of his people. O seasons of refri'sh- 
ing from the presence of the Lord, often enjoyed in the ordi- 
nances of his house, and in the congregations, which are called by 
his name, how precious do ye seem, when no longer in the reach 
of enjoyment! that men would duly estimate the privileges of 
the Christian Church, and show their sensibility of Divine favor, 
whilst these precious opportunities are accessible, and they capa- 
ble of improving them to lasting advantage. 

Though very unable to speak, yet feeling a return of all my 
iirst enthusiasm for the instruction of mankind in righteousness, 
I sat on a bed and delivered a discourse to about one hundred 
people, in the second cabin, on the evening of the first sabbath, 
after we sailed from Belfast. My subject was, *4 have a mes- 
sage from God unto thee."* O how happy I was to expostulate with 
the people on that occasion; not knowing but it might be the last 
opportunity for me to speak or them to hear. At the close of the 
service I told them, if my life should be spared, and the Captain 
approve, I would preach every Sabbath, during the voyage. 

The Captain issued an ordinance on the following Sabbath mor- 
ning, and like a true son of the church, annexed a penalty, which 
was, that '*all passengers capable of attending, and all the crew 
who were not actually engaged in the management of the vessel, 
should wash and change clothes at the first bell, or nine in the 
morning, and attend service at the second bell, or ten o'clock; 
and whoever would neglect should be deprived of his allowance 
of water until the following Tuesday." The decks were all reg- 
ularly washed on Saturday evening, and every preparation made 
for the Sabbath; and no pains spared in providing every conven- 
ience for worship. Hence I had a congregation of about 250 
peisons every Sabbath ; a majority of whom heard the word 
gladly. 

No attempt was made by me to promote sectarian views. O 
no! we were all separated from home and from acquaintances; 
former prejudice and party spirit were no more. On the vast ex- 
panse of wafer, surrounded by nothing but he blue ethereal sky, 
we raised our fellowship to communion with the inhabitants of the 
celestial world, and felt as if our absence from our country, kin- 
dred, and fellow-men, made access to heaven more easy, and pla- 
ced us nearer the eternal throne. Sweet hours, in the midst of 
dange) and death, with bodies emaciated by disease t and sick- 
ness, the world and all its cares fled, as if from the jrcsenre of 
the new Heavens, which seemed to come down to us, whilst we 

^ ^Jud^es 3. 20. f The dvsentery predominated among the passengers du- 
ring a great part of the voyage. 



44 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

held communion with the Father and the Son! I felt as if I could 
bless God, that I had lived to those days: and renewed mj vows 
to serve him in the sacred o3ice to which, i thought I had recei- 
Ted a renewal of my commission. 

On the 28th of June we d:?gcried the coast of Nova Scotia. 
This was like a Pisga view of the promised land, and was a time 
of rejoicing to all. But alas, how true it is, that m the midst of 
life we are in death. On the evening of Sabbath the SOth of June, 
two days after our hearts had been cheered, by a prospect of a 
speedy termination of our imprisonment, being envelloped in 
thick fog, and our ship running at the rate of eight miles an hour^ 
we struck on a nick on the coast of Hope Island. heavens I 
shall 1 ever forget the awful ness of that hour! In the midst of 
darkness, we could not see the object again-st which we struck, and 
waiting in awful suspense, worse than death itself, every moment 
for the descent of our vessel, or her falling into pieces. All hands, 
except the mate and ship carpenter, were so terror struck as to 
pay no attention to the commands of the Captain. Having stood 
about two minutes in desperate consternation, I began to suppli- 
cate heaven on behalf of the numer.ous lives on board. The ex- 
postulations of Abraham for Sodom, came into view, and the rea- 
sons assigned by Jehovah for sparing the Ninevites. I cried to God > 
to be intreated on our behalf. I then reflected on my ministry. 
Eternal God, cried I, for what end have I come hither.^* Hast thou 
not a message for me to bear to the people of America! 
That moment my faith soemed as if it could remove mountains: I 
leaped on the quarter deck, and exclaimed, Jehovah I am thine. 
I am destined to preach thy great Salvation to the inhabitants of 
the New World. I shall be carried to them. The waves cannot 
drown me! 

The greater part of the passengers, had got on the deck. Those 
who could swim were preparing to leap off*. I ran to the prow, 
and looking over, saw nothing but craggy rocks. I then ran to 
■^e Captain, crying. Captain, forget your vessel, and save your pas- 
sengers! He replied, I will; the boats shall be ready in two min- 
utes. The long boat was heaved aside the vessel: all who could 
swim were ordered to remain on deck, and not to quit the vessel 
till she foundered. But the shore being so unfavorable for land- 
ing, the sea so rough, the danger of the boat swamping, or being 
broken on the rocks; and the thoughts of parting husband and 
children, made the prospect to the women as cruel as death. An 
officer on board, kept up a constant firing of minute guns, and 
caused a wet sponge to be put into the caliber before the match 
was applied, to increase the report: but no person came to our 
assistance! 

Finding that the stern of the vessel was moving, and that tha 
waters had not become unmanageably deep in the hold, an anchor 
was taken astern, some distance, and fastened; and about sixty 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 45 *# 

men pulling the cable, the ship moved astern and parted with the 
rock. how alert was every ear, to hear the man who sounded, 
announce every minute, the"de;vth of the water in the hold! As 
the vessel seemed to bear up, and the punips to take away the 
water nearly as fast as it entercvl, courage was resumed: and eve- 
ry one that could do ought, seesned perfectly willing to assist. 
Thus, the Lord in mercy, saved us from a watery gravel 

The ship, Edward Downes, was almost entirely wew, built of 
the best materials, and burden 500 tons. She was considered the 
boast and honor of Ireland. No blame was attached to the Cap- 
tain, who, in every sense of the word, was a gentleman: but 
masters of vessels cannot be too careful on the coast of Halifax, 
and especially in the Bay of Fundy: where the tide drifts a ship 
at the rate of four or five miles an hour. Thus, whilst we ex- 
pected to weather the Island, at least one or two miles, we struck 
it right in the centre. Conscious of the high standing of the Cap- 
tain, not only in the opinion of his passengers, but of his country 
in general, I talked with some persons on the propriety of our 
bearing testimony to his conduct. We immediately contributed 
abottt Oi'.e hundred dollars, drew up and signed a certificate, got 
an elegant gold medal struck, which I presented, and he received, 
with tears of mutual gratitude. It bears the follovving inscription: 

^^ Presented, by his passengers, to Captain RUSSEL^ Comman- 
der of the EDWABD BOWNES, as a token of their gratijude 
and high esteem, for his humanity and professional ahUlties, mani- 
fested during the voyage to Jimerica, in the Spring of 1822." 

On my arrival at East Port, Maine, I preached in the Baptist 
church, and after remaining a few days, sailed for Philadelphia. 
This destination appeared to be as of constraint, for I had always 
fixed on Boston, as the place where I should spend some time, on 
my arrival in the New World. To this part of America, I was 
advised by Rev. Dr. Bruce of Belfast, and my esteemed friend 
Professor Thompson, and others, who considered the Bostonians 
as the most literary and philosophical citizens of all the Repub- 
lic. We landed at Philadelphia, on the first of August. I was 
extremely disappointed on viewing the city. I had heard much of 
it, but on seeiug a mass of plain, common, unadorned brick buil- 
dings, I could not but suppose, that all the descriptions which I 
had read or heard, were taken from imagination ai not from re- 
al scenery. It will be readily admitted, that the city is very 
regularly laid out, and the streets kept agreeably clean; but when 
this is said, all the truth is nearly exhausted. To the man of 
taste there is little attraction at Philadelphia, and to social feelings 
there is almost one uniform repulse. 

On Sabbath, being the third of August, I preached to a large 
congregation in George church and on the following Sabbath in 
theEbenezer, which are the largest and best attended churches 



46 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

amongst the Methodists in Philadelphia, and perhaps in the Un- 
ion. I continued to preach in the different chapels, occasionally, 
for some time, especially in the two above named, and sometimes 
in Nazareth, Salem, and John's church. Connected with George 
church, are some very respectable families and preachers, by 
whom I was kindly and etfectionately received 5 a id for their guod 
will and kind favors, I trust I fee] thankful. But several of them 
who received me with warmth at first, on a change of name and 
party, proved themselves devoid of every principle, whether mo- 
ral, religious, or polite. Indeed, 1 was by no means surprised by 
such conduct, having long witnessed similar proceedings, among 
a class of men, in whom a mean education was combined with fa- 
naticism in religion. 

Shortly after my arrival at Philadelphia, I was solicited to 
join an association whose object was, professedly, to put down the 
Universalists, whom the members of said association represented, 
as a set of wicked and infamous men I On inquiry concerning 
them, I was informed, they believed thai men died lih cattle^ and 
ceased to be forever! I replied, ''that cannot be, for all Univer- 
salists agree, that mankind shall be universally saved." But it 
was again replied, that ^Hhey did not believe in the soul of 7r,an, 
and therefore-, the death of the body was the termination of his ex- 
istence. On farther and more particular inquiry, I learned that 
the Universalists of Philadelphia, disbelieved future punishwent; 
and this fact had given origin to the above false representation. 
However, I then seriously believed it my duty to join the Asso- 
ciation, which con^^isted of persons of all denominations, believ- 
ing in endless misery, united in one common mass to overthrow 
the supposed pernicious errors of Universalism! The Associa- 
tion was constituted under the name of the ''Theological Society 
of Philadelphia," and chieSy consisted of Methodist Preachers, 
Class Leaders, &c. I was elected Chairman, but afterwards, for 
the convenience of occupying a more active station in the arena 
of combat, 1 resigned the office of Chairman and was choson Sec- 
retar}^ 

The Theological Society met every, Thursday evening, in the 
Hall (vf the Northern Liberties, and the Berean Society, on every 
Tuesday evening in the same place. On entering the Hall, for 
the first time. Dr. Burden, then Chairman of the Berean Society, 
wcs reading the subject for discussion, namely, "The doctrine of 
Atonement;" which, he stated, had been under consideration at a 
previous meeting. I inquired if by atonerneni^ was implied the 
doi trine of suhstltution^ and was answered in the affirmative. 
This doctrine I then cordially believed, and felt disposed to de- 
fend, in the most strenuous and zealous manner. 

I rememher, when in conversation with the learned Dr, Bruce, 
before I left Bilfi st, I had spoken freely on this srbject. I had 
snentioned the phrase, eternal Son^ at which he smiled, saying; 



.MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 47 

can you form any idea of eternal Father, when you apply the 
same appellation to his Son: I answered yes; nor do 1 see any 
thing ridiculous in the application. We may call the Sun the Pa- 
rent of light, but you cannot suppose a Sun without light. If 
then you can suppose light to be emitted from the Sun, the first 
moment of his existence, with equal propriety, may we suppose 
the Sen to exist in the first inoinent of his Divine Father. If 
then we may call God eternal, we may, with nearly equal propri- 
ety, call his Son eternal, for you cannot conceive of a peri- 
od, in which he existed, without the capability of acting in that 
supposed period. Then, Sir, said he, you can suppose the d jc- 
trine of Substitution also? 1 can, Sir, said I, and philosophical- 
ly too! for when I look at some little insects and consider their 
insignificance, I can conceive of a man, worth a world of such in- 
sects, and ascending the scale of existence upwards from man to 
God, I can suppose there may be other beings as far above man, 
as man above an insect; consequently equal in value to a world of 
mankind. Well, said he, if you can conceive of the subject in 
such way as will not dishonor God, I am submissive. 

I therefore maintained the doctrine of vicarious sufferings, for 
several evenings, at least with doubtful victory on either side. 
B It during the process of the controversy between the Berean and 
Theological Societies, frequent appeals were made to me, as an 
honest and classical roan, in relation to different opinions concer- 
ning the propriety of the Erglish translation of certain passages, 
in the New Testament; and also concerning the import of certain 
terms, the meaning of w! ich, might efifect the arj»;uments used in 
the debate. As I nevci remember being able to deny what I believed, 
I made acknowledgements that were deemed injurious to the doc- 
trines, whidh I then maintained: but in fact I maintained no doc- 
trine, which I did not believe. However, the Universalists on the 
one hand, and Methodists on the other, began to collect evidence, 
which they thought amounted to proi)f,that I believed the doctrine 
of the Restitution of all firings This produced satisfaction on the 
one hand, but chagrin and disgust on the other. Indeed, at the 
commencement of the controversy, I pledged my word, that I 
should either triumph by fair means, or fall a victim in the contest: 
and if any man, of whatever country or abilities, enter ihe con- 
troversy with Universalism, on the same principle by which I was 
governed, the result will be the same! 

Suspicions of my orthodoxy, now began to operate powerfully 
among the Methodists: and as they are the most forward people 
on earth to all manner of talkativeness, one more full of zeal than 
knowledge, reported to the Superintendent of George's charge, 
that T had denied the Deity of Jesus and admitted Universalism, 
In a few days after, I was informed by a certain man, that I 
showl'l ' e brought to trial for preaching false doctrines, and that 
he should be one of the witnesses* I then thought it expedient to 



4S Memoir of the author. 

make a full confession of facts, and withdraw in order to avoid 
unpleasant feelings, both to myself and friends. I therefore ad- 
dressed the*following note to the Rev. Mr. Thatcher. 

Sir, — As suspicion operates so powerfully as:ainst me, t think 
it my duty to withdraw from the Methodist Episcopal Church. I 
confess I am a confirmed Arian, and a believer in the restitution of 
all things: and as I am persuaded that all ejBTurts to reclaim rae, 
would be ineffectual; I bid you adieu; wishing you and all my 
former friends, the enjoyment of every blessing in time and eter- 
nity. 

J. S. THOMPSON. 

Philadelphia, JK^ovemher 6, 1822. 

Since the day I wrote the above note, which sure'y was not cal- 
culated to give great offence, the conduct of the Methodists to- 
Vi^ards me, has been such as would disgrace any system of Pagan- 
ism! No law, hnman or divine, no decency nor tie of humanity, 
has afforded any boundary to their malice, nor restriction to their 
persecution. Nor has any manly principle inspired their souls, 
to rise higher than the mire of slander, and stratagem of fiilsehood. 
So be it. By such means, they will more effectually teach man- 
kind, the barrenness of their souls, and the rottenness of their 
pretensions, than by any other method to which the could possi- 
bly resort. 

At the next meeting of the Society, after the date of the above 
note, it vvas read by the chairman, and produced a considerable 
comniotion. One cried, "Thank God I" a second '*Hang him!" 
a third, *'Judas!" and to riot they went, right franticly, as if 
they had thought themselves in the midst of a grand revival, or 
camp-meeting! The scene of that evening was worthy the origin 
and end of a Society, composed of such materials, and got up for 
such a purpose! The following facetious piece appeared shortly 
after, in the "Philadelphia Universalist Magazine." 

SUICIDE. 

An incident of late occurrence in this city tends much to 
strengthen the idea, that suicide is never committed unless in 
a state !>f mental insanity. A sensibility too much excited throws 
a gloom over the most delightful prospects of life, and when com- 
bined with mania super stitiosa will frequently terminate existence. 
The melancholy instance under notice, was a being of strange 
compound, with clothing of divers colors, and unseemly make: 
he was a church-yard compost, surrounded with fog, he fought 
ideal windmills, and smiled on his Quixotic conquests: his mental 
abberrations passed for spiritual influx, and his groans and shouts 
as landmarks of inspiration — but alas there arose a sad reality, to 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 49 

which opposition was strength, and combat, victory— He fought 
with enthusiasm until his ramparts were levelled, and the flag in 
the hands of his foe: when, sad to relate, he turned his arms against 
himself and snapped the silver chord of life with his own hands. 
•—Ye pious! drop the tear — The Methodist Theological Society is 
no more!!/ Noisj, though not destructive, it rose boisterous as 
the western wind, till its sound was hushed forever on the waters 
of truth. — Like the grave- diggers in Hamlet, the wise argued its 
right to Christian burial, and in the midst of confusion it was jer- 
ked into its grave. Persecution was its last sermon^ and the amen 
of its prayer was riot — The wicked stood in silence, spectators of 
the ludicro comico-non-reli<£iosct scene; and then was brought to 
pass the saying that is written: "Lft the dead hury tneir aead.^* 
O Bereans, be generous even to your enemies, and let the Hall 
of your assemblies be hung in black for poor Theological: yea 
invite his relatives to mourn with you, the sudden downfall of 
feln de 5?." 

Reflecting on my own lot, which I have sometimes regarded as 
Unfortunate, I received some consolation from the thought, that 
my case was by no means singular; and that reproach and slander 
bave in no age been sure indicati<ms of guilt. The following 
fines, on Calumny, being appropriate, are therefore inserted: 

Ah, what avails the shield of truth, 
The charm of virtue, beauty, youth, 
Against that fiend, unformed, uncouth. 

Whose wounds no lenient balm can lose? 
As^jaiPd by slander's venon" ''d tooth. 
The scnsate mind must droop, forsooth, 

And wither like a cankerM rose. 
Yes, they who ever felt tht pang 
Of Calumny's inveterate fang-, 
Must own that minstrel never sang- 
Of deeper, dreader, deadlier foes. 

But whaf, alas, avails complaint? 
Be man more holy than a saint, 

He env} 's fiend enrag'd must see. 
Be lovely woman *'chaste as snow 
And pure as ice,'* she still must know 
The keenest pang' of human wo, 

The rankhng wound of Calumny 

But hear a Saviour's accents milS, 
'"The persecuted and reviled 
Are blessed" — saith the Lord. 
Then still, in conscious virtue clad, 
"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, 
"For great is your reward." 

As my connexion with the Methodists was now dissolved, wei^ 
er again to be renewed, in the present mode of existence, it carf • 

7 



dTO MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR* 

not be improper to subjoin the followins; brief review o( a systeirif 
which for a season 1 admiretl, but which, at every cahu period of 
my life, I disapproved. A system, that can only live so long as 
the mind is held in vassalage, by the influence of bodily passions* 
But lest it might be supposed, that I speak from prejudice, I shall 
principally use the words of Southey: and though my own obser- 
vation could supply sufficient matter for a volume, yet the remarks 
shall be confined to three or four pages. 

That Wesley was ambitwus. none can deny. His power from 
the first was absolute and despotic. When asked in ooe of ihe 
Coaferences, what power he exercised over all the Methodists of 
Great Britain and Ireland, he replied, in relation to classes: *'A 
power to appoint when, where- and how they should meet: and 
this power remained the same whether the people meeting were 
12, 1200, or 12,000"— In relation to stewards: ''I myself, not the 
people, chose the stewards, and appointed each the distinct work 
wherein he was to help me as long as /chose.'' — In relation to 
preachers: "'A power to appoint when, where, and how, they shall 
help me — and to tell any. if /saw cause, /do not desire your help 
any longer." — In rel tion to the Conferences; "They did not de- 
sire the meeting, but /did; neither did I at any time divest my- 
sylf of any ynrt of that power which the Providence of Gx)d had 
C'st upon me."* More pe *anti and despotic language than this, 
under the garb of mock humility, cannot be produced from any 
history, either ecclesiastical or profane! 

That Wesley was inconsiste.^t and hy ocrltical is equally man- 
ifest from a variety of circumstances. Whilst he had no hopes of 
obtaining a title to Episcopacy, ne maintained that Presbyter and 
B '-.'lop were synonymous: but when Erasmus, the professed Bishop 
of Arcadia, appeared in London, Wesley was very desirous of 
beinjj; Episcopized on that occasion; though he failed to attain 
the object of his ambition, in respect to titles i>f honor. N otwith- 
StHsiding, he was too crafty for i oke; for from reading Lord 
K!ng;;''s account of the Primitive Church, Wesley persuaded both 
himself and Coke, that being a Presbyter, he was also a Bish- 
op, and had the right to o dain Coke a Bishop, which he felt mo- 
ved to do at Bristol; without it occurring to Coke, that he b^ing 
als) a Presbyter, was as 2:ood a Bishop as Wesley, anrl had as 
good authority to ordain WesI y. But probably. Coke was as de- 
sirous of th" hu nble titlf' as Weslev. anfl was as little concerned 
as he, about the validity, provided he enjoyed the hame and au- 
thority, t 

As soon as Coke feU his new honors to come hlus'iins; thick upon 
%in» he began to partake of the same spirit that dwelt in Wesley: 
hence, he arrogated t -e satne authority over Scotland, as had 
been f -olishly assu'ued over America. Thus, these meek, hum- 

* Se.? Sr, i^hev's L.e of vVeslej, vol. 2. p, 146. f See Life of Wes]ex'< 

rol.2. p. 316— 319., 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 5l 

ble souls, who were always reaching huaiilitj to their hearers, 
were w.^U itware, that the more humble iheir submissive followers 
the more easy to hold them in vassalage; and aever did the most 
absolute despot of Rome, hold the creduhms and implicit believ- 
ers of his spiritual supremacy, in more abject slavery, than the 
sef -consecrated fathers of Methodism, the delirious admirers of 
their celestial delegation! 

The progress of Methodism was much assisted by the hypocrit- 
ical pretentions of its propagators, who always professed to be 
true sons of the Church, wiiilst they were actually sapping its 
foundation! **Weare all Churchmen, we will always remain S05 
only let us be more holy!'' This was their continual cry: a very 
plausible pretence and alluring bait, which hooked many thous- 
ands unawares; f()r the converts have generally been from the 
unthinking class; whereas, among the Scotch, who are a deliber- 
ate people, very few proselytes were ever obtained. 

Methodism is the nd vacate of tgnuravce; and disseminates dis* 
affectum tn litertrt/ pursuits. Before Wesley commenced his ca- 
reer, he wrote a letter from Oxf>rd to his mother, in which he 
says, *'shall I quite break off wy pursuit of all learning, but what 
immediately tends to practice? i once desired to make a fair 
show in languages and philosophy; but it is pa*t: there is a move 
excellent way." And on his voyage to Ameiica, he wrote to his 
bi'other Charles to * 'banish from his school all such poison as the 
classics." On relating these things, Southey very justly remarks: 
"Fanaticism always comes to this in its progress; first it depre- 
ciates learning, then it would destroy it. 'I'here have been Chris- 
tians, as they believed themselves, who would have burned the 
Alexandrian Library, upon the same logic as the Caliph Omar.* 

The disciples of Wesley have received with due meekness, the 
precepts of their master in this respect, as the following instance 
out of an hundred may show. In 1813, when Methodism had at- 
tained its apex of popularity, and when, in consequence of Lord 
Sidney's bill, it became necessary for preachers to have licen es, 
out of thirty-six persons who obtained licences at one time, six 
spelled ^''Ministers of the Gospel" in six different ways: seven 
signed thvir mark: and one, on being; asked if he could read, re-^ 
plied, ''■Mother reads, and I ^spounds and 'splains."t 

In 1821, I was present in Mount Pleasant Chapel, Liverpool, 
when a Mr. Francis, one of their most respectable prearhers, who 
had excited the disgust of the Methodist populace, because he 
usually addressed their understanding, and made but few appeals 
to their passions, closed his fareweJl sermon to a large congrega* 
tion in the following^ manner: **I have laboreci among you for two 
years. '*'hey have been productive of painful feelinsrs, but I have 
disburdened my soul. During my services among you, I have often 
called upon you to exercise your understandino;s in the service of 

^*=Life of Wesley, vol. 1, p. p. 78, 92. i Life of Wesley, vol. 3, p. 38& 



52 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

Gttd, but I now leave you to sing to the praise and glory of igni}- 
ranee, while you live!" 

"The tendency to produce mock humility and spiritual pride, is 
one of the evii effects of Methodism. It is chargeable also with 
leading to bigotry, illiberal manners, confined knowledge, and un- 
charitable superstition. In its insolent language, all unawakened 
persons, that is to say, all except themselves, or such graduated 
professois in other evangelical sects as they are pleased to admit 
ad eundem, are contemptuously styled unbelievers^ In proportion: 
as Methodism obtained ground among the educated classes, its 
direct effect* were evil. It narrowed their views and feelingsj 
burdened them with forms; discouraged accomplishments that gave 
a grace to life; substituted a sectarian instead of a Catholic spirit; 
carrying disunion and discord into private life, breaking up fami- 
lies and friendships. The sooner you have weaned your affections 
from those who, not being awakened, were, of course, in the way 
to perdition^ — the sooner the sheep withdrew from the goats, the 
better. Upon this head, the m mks were not more remorseless 
than the Methodists. They take all other Christians to be hea- 
thens. These are those great pretenders to th<* spirit, into whose 
party does the vilest person living no sooner adscribe himself, than 
he is, ipso facto, dubbed a saint, hallowed and dear to God. — • 
These are the confidents who can design the minute, the place and 
the means of their conversion:— a schism full of spiritual disdain 
and high imposture, if any such there be on earth."* 

As to the disorder common among Methodists, especially in re- 
vivals, it can be easily accounted for on natural principles. When 
Wesley made his first tour into Wales, he says the most of the 
inhabitants were as utterly ignoraat of the gospel as any Cherokee 
Indian. After preaching was over, any one who pleased gave out 
averse of a hymn, and this they sang over and over again, with 
all their might and main, thirty or forty times, till some of them 
wrought themselves into a sort of drunkenness or madness. They 
were then violently agitated, and leaped up and down in all man- 
ner of postures, frequently for hours tagether. "I think," savs 
Wesley, "there needs no great penetration to understand this- — 
they have little experience, either of the ways of God or the devi- 
ces of Satan ; so he serves himself by their simplicity, in order to 
wear them out, and to bring a discredit on the work of God." — 
This was the beginning of the Jumpers. *'At seven in the mor- 
ning," says Whitefield,t **have I seen, perhaps, ten thousand, in 
the midst of a sermon, crying Goguuiant bendyitti, ready to leap 
forjoy4" 

* Southey, vol. 2, 376 — 8. f A man who attended one of these nrjeeting-s, 
but coald not ^et within hearing of Whitefield's voice, telling how blessod he 
was under the sermon, was asked how he could be blessed, when he did not 
hear a single word. "Ah," said he, " I saw his blessed white wig.'' | South- 
ey,Tol, 2, p. p. 164—5. 



MEMOIR OF AUTHOR. 5^ 

"A powerful doctrine,'' sajs feouthey, ''ireached with passion- 
ate sincerity, with fervid zeal, and vehement eloquence, produced 
a powerful effect upon weak minds, ardent feelings, and disonier- 
evi fancies. There are passions which are as infectious as Ibe 
plague, and fear itself is not more so than fanaticism. W1.j n 
once these bodily affections were declared to be the work of grace, 
the process of regeneration, the throes of the new birth, a fiee li- 
cence was proclaimed for every kind of extravagance. And when 
the preacher encouraged his auditors to throw off all restraint, and 
abandon themselves before the congrtgation to these mixed ^ensa- 
tions {f mind and body, the consequences were what might be an- 
ticipated. S(jmetimes Wesley scarcely began to spenk, beft.re 
some of his believers, overwrought with expectation, fell into the 
crisis, for so it may be called in Methodism, as properly as in ciiii- 
mal magnetism. Sometimes his voice cou^d scarcely be I card 
amid the groans and cries of the suffering and raving enthusiasts | 
and it was not long before men, women, and children, began to 
act the denoniac as well as tht couvert."^'^ 

The following extract exhibits a fair picture of Methodism in a 
thunder-storm. *^I was preaching r>n forgiveness," sa;ys a Mr. 
C« nnick. *'It was pitch dark; large fla>-!ies of lightning and hsud 
claps of thunder, mixed with screams of frightened peisons cjiu^td 
thereby, the place seemed to resemble the habitation ot apostate 
spirits. One cried, *that fearful thunder is raised hy the rHvtl!* 
Another, *the Devil will have nje! I am daured!' a thid, 'Jen 
thousand Devils, millions of Devils are about me!' 7 his continu- 
ed three hours. O what a power reigned amonjist us!I!"t 

As a general summary, Methodism has had its good effects, 
partly on the ruder orders of society; and partly, in esciiing 
others of more solid and efficient energies to greater activity. But 
were all the gooti and ill it has dene in the wor cl put in scaies, it 
would not be easy to determine wl ich vv< uld preponderate, its 
tendency is manifestly to baibarism. It degrades the manners, 
stupifies the mind, and drowns the intellect in ^loony «uj erstitii'nt 
Its financial system outgenerals that of the Church iJ Ron-e in the 
days of Luther; and is the most oppressive th?t ever disgra^^ftd 
Christianity. Oft have I known its subjects beg from the pai'sb 
to put in the Methodist box, an(i wives def-aud their husbarids 
for the same j_urpose. The sale of tickets is the sale of ?n(iuigen« 
cps and passports, under a new name: and the wh'/ie systen), cal- 
culated to enervat? the oider of society, the entrgies of iLtellect^ 
the progress of science, and the happiness of mankind! 

When at Edinburgh, 7 oftf n heard the story of the taihu' and 
Ills wife, in relation to Mr. W. which being a sample of marv si- 
milar proceedings, T shall here relate. This w^ tnan, wh** vv ,- a 
grpat admirer of Methodism, had got cnnvi^rted. an'' doribted 
whether it were lawful for her t'» remain any lor^ger with her bus. 

■^ Southey, vol. l,y.Z2J. f Soututy, vol. 1, p. 404. 



M ]iiEMOIR GF THE AUTHOR, 

band, (}\eh^\n^unconv;'rted and an ihbe'tt^ver.) He, on his pa!*t^ 
had often suspected fraudulent dealings fvr pious purposes. One- 
day whilst his wife was preparing for attendance on W's. preach- 
ing, he observed with great care, and endeavored to call her atten- 
tion from her room into another part of the house, on some busi- 
ness. Going immediately to her bureau, he saw a folded paper, 
and on opening it, found three pieces of gold, which he exchanged 
for three Scotch pennies, leaving the paper folded as before. The 
woman hastening to meeting, carried the paper without examina- 
tion, and after service, put it into Mr. W's. hand, who, on her 
departure, opened the paper, and beholding its contents, sent after 
the woman. On hf^r return, he asked if she intended to insult 
him, by giving him three pence, rolled in a paper. She affirmed 
she gave him three half guineas. He denied, she affirmed, till 
b)th became somewhat choleric. 'Ahl' said the woman, *my hus- 
band has often told me you were a fo.v, and now I believe him.' 
She abandoned Methodism, and lived, ever after, agreeably with 
her husband. 

[f any ask, is not the description you have given of Methodism 
tinctured with prejudice. ^* I answer, I believe not. If it be again 
demanded, does the above description include all Methodists? I 
answer no; for there is no general rule without exceptions. But 
when we describe a country, we do not draw the picture of its 
national character from its nobility and its literati; for this would 
be as incorrect, as to rep' esent all Israel the worshippers of the 
true God in the days of Elijah, because there were seven thousand 
w^ho had not bowed the knee to Baal. The general character of a 
country or sect is its true character, by which it ought ever to be 
represented. Should, however, Methodism emancipate itself from 
former follies, and ever attain to mens sana in corpore sano, it will 
then be no longer liable to former objections. Nor should it be 
supposed that many good men of decent education, who have pat- 
ronized Methodism, are subject to it^ infectious or contagious in- 
fluence; but as far as they have drunk into its spirit, their character 
has become more or less depreciated. May Gr)d in mercy deliver 
mankind from fanaticism: for there can be no thought too wicked, 
no action too base, for the frantic enthusiast! 

This account of false religion, may induce some to imagine the 
writer unfavorable to true religion: but blessed be God, it is not 
so. Frum ligo, to tie or hind^ is derived religo, to rehiud^ or place 
under a more powerful restraint; and hence the English word re- 
ligi >n^ which is that moral obligation under which the Divine be- 
nevolence has placed the whole human offspring. From the Di- 
vine goodness to us and the desire of our own happiness, result re- 
ciprocal good will and beneficence among mankind. With this 
view of the subject, it is easy to perceive the f ►rce and propriety 
of the doctrine taught by Jesus and Paul, namely: **love is the ful- 
.fillin^ of the law." Love to God for his goodness, love to pne 



-MEMOIR Of THE AUTHOK. 0.0 

aiiotlier, which causes us to abound in everj goofl word and work: 
for, .saith Paul, ^'Ini^ wovketu no ilL'^ "Is gratitude," said Lord 
Chatham, "nn the number of a man's virtues? If it is, the highest 
benefactor demands the warmest returns )f gratitude^ love and 
praise; ingratum qui dixerit omnia diorit. If a man want this vir- 
tu*', where there are infinite obligations to excite and quicken it, 
he will be likely to want all others towards his fellow creatures, 
whose utmost gifts are poor, compared with those which he daily 
receives at the hands of his never-failing, A' mighty friend. Cher- 
isli true reUgion as preciously, as you wiUfly, with abhorrence and 
•ontempt, superstition and euthusiaain. The first is the perfection 
and glory of the human nature: the two last, its depravation and 
disgrace." 

Whoever would be religious, must learn to do justJy, love meV' 
«)/, !md waiic iiumbtij wtth God.^ Do justly^ by the exercise of that 
impartial equity to all men which we would that they should man- 
ifest unto us; never approving of fraud or deception in ourselves, 
which we disapprove in others. Loving mercy, by the prompt and 
cheerful performance of every kind, benevolent and charitable ac- 
tion to which we may be called by the ties of consanguinity, or by 
the mistakes and misfortunes of others: in all cases exercising 
pity and forgiveness towards all men, in all situations; and judg- 
ing of the nature and extent of that mercy and forbearance which 
We owe to them, by placing ourselves in their circumstances, and 
suffering ourselves to be governed by the influence of sympathy, 
and the example of our blessed Master. Walking humbly w^th 
God, by remembering our infinite «)b)igations to him, our continual 
dependence on his providence, our un worthiness and rebellion; 
and by manifesting our sense of his favor and our dependance. by 
thankful praise and humble prayer; never repining at any occur- 
rence of providence, knowing that all events are under the gui- 
dance of unerring wisdom and parental care. 

Here a small digression may be admissible, relative to concerns 
of a domestic nature. On August 10, 18^2, being the second Sab' 
bath after my arrival at Philadelphia, on my way to preach at 
Kensijgton, I was introduced to the family of the late iloss Thtun- 
son. Attorney at Law, then residing in the Northern Liber^ipsj 
and as they were of Irish extraction, I had reason to believe then\ 
a branch of my own family. Hence an intimate friendship was 
soon formed, which shortly after resulted in a still more intimate 
alliance. On the twelfth day of the fol'owino: October, I was mar- 
ried, by the Rev. Henry King, to Emeline Mari.v Vesie Thou- 
SON, the amiable daughter of said Ross T> omsnt?, then .'iged nine- 
teen years. Of her was born to me, in the vicinity of Rochester, 
N Y. March 6, \S^4, Elizabeth Mary T'^om/vso/i,' so called from 
Elizabeth, the name of my mother and fourth sister; and Mary,-\ 

* iVIit,3.h, 6, 8 f The readf r is remi?st ..' to co- - a uiy mistake m pag'e 9di 
Tme 16th, and iustead of "Mary," read "Elizabeth." 



36 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, 

the name of my second sister, and also the name of the mother of 
Emelike Maria Vesie. Unto us was also born m Philadelphia, 
Ja iuaiv 16. 1826, Jj n Smiud Ross T/iornpyon. Tljese constitute 
the present number of my family, whom I commend to the pro- 
tection and favor of Heaven; earnestly praying they may be bles- 
sed, anc^ rendered, by the kind providence of God, both useful and 
ornimeMtal to society. 

Believing I might serve the cause of truth more effectually in 
s;;nie. other district than at Philadelphia^ 1 resolved to leave that 
citv. In the beginning of 1823, 1 had published a pamphlet enti- 
tled '*Unitarianism the religion of Jesus" which seemed to aug- 
ment my crime, and increase the popular prejudice. On the eve- 
ning before my departure, the Second Universalist Society, for 
whom I had preached some timt?, presented the following testi- 
monial. 

The official members of the Second Universalist Society in Phi- 
ladelphia, certify that the Rev. Jonn Samuel Thompson has con- 
ducted himself with propriety, since he came to this city. After 
he became a Universalist, his former friends, who seem to have 
become his enemies, merely on account of his change of setiments, 
made several etFi.its to injure his character, and prevent his use- 
fulness as a uunister; but his moral conduct always appeared to us 
correct and regular; and his ministry here has been acceptable, 
and respectfully attended. 

Attestj JOHN CRAVEN, Sec'y, 

Fhdadelphia, March 4, 1823. 

Having arrived at New-York, I was agreeably struck with the 
contrast. The appearance of the city, the extent of businejrs, and 
the open and friendly address of the inhabitants, induce the fo- 
reigner to think he has again crossed the Atlantic, and entered on 
a diiFerent nation from that which he had cortemplated at Phila- 
delphia. After a few day's delay at this city, I visited New- Ha- 
ven, where I preached several times in the State Htiuse, and had 
a rencounter with the obedientf'S ventn of Yale-College, who ap- 
peared as ill adapted to manage a Theological thesis, as their dog- 
matical professor. Alas! what time is lost in the seminaries, in 
straining at gnats and swallowing camels. Whilst the student 
often thinks himself fully qualified for that office to which he as- 
pires, he sometimes feels, to his great dissatisfaction, that he has 
been spending his strength for nought and laborins: in vain. 

Returning to New-York. I made a tour to the West, as far as 
Buffilo, preaching the Gu«pel in most of the villages, which seem- 
ed to them as a first message. Scarcely any place west of New- 
Hertford, had ever heard the doctrine of grace. Salvation by 
^'orks or purgatorial purificotion. appeared to constitute the per- 
fection of their knowledge in the Gospel. Thf* professors of 
Umversalism, in general, stood upon the same foundation on which 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.. 57 

I rested when I left Europe. But belieying I had gueatly profit- 
ed bj the discussions at Philadelphia, 1 could not but wish that 
others might attain the like deliverance. I therefore preached in. 
every place of importance between Philadelphia and Buffalo, on 
the doctrine of future punishment, founded on the supposition of 
a local hell, and a resurrection of animal being*!. My desire was 
to expose my sentiments to the most rijj;aious investigation; and 
if any person could present any reasonable objection, to allow it 
full weight.* But alas! mystery Babylon, built on a family oF 
corporeal and sensual gods, and baneful partiality, erected un the 
fables of Elysian fields and Pluto's kingdom, were, on every tri- 
al, found as destitute of evidence, as the Theogony of Hesiod or the 
tribunal of Minas. And though many laymen and clergymen, 
who made the experiment of a comparison of opinions, do still, 
at least, profess to believe their former sentiments, yet they could 
not but feel extremely disappointed. Conviction, however, is 
useless for the vast majority of mankind, who have neither hon- 
esty to avow nor courage to defend. But I feel content. It 
would grieve me to obtain such mef* for disciples, who, like 
Esau, sell every day their birthright for a mess of pottage. 
Preaching at Canandaigua May 25, to a large congregation of 
all denominations, none of whom knew my sect or opinions, till 
they learned them horn my discourse, I asked the audience, why 
the doctrine of the Devil had been so much valued by the theolo- 
gians and those who have been esteemed evangelical preachers? 
and thus answered: "These men have no doubt observed that cer- 
tain birds never seek to domiciliate with man, unless pursued by 
the hawk, aud having painted their God in such a hideous form, 
that none could desire him, they believed it necessary to set tte 
Devil after the Christians, to chase them home to heaven I" This 
remark pleased a part of the congregation very much; and made 
the worshippers of Baal groan in spirit, being burdened for fear 
the honor of his satanic majesty would come into disrepute. 

Preaching concerning the bad tendency of a doctrine, at Bufta- 
lo, June 6, I asked could any conceive of a more abandoned 
character than that despicable wretch, who traversing the streets, 
uttered, against any of his fellow creatures, the horrid impreca- 
tion, God d — n your soul! Surely not. Bnt who taught the 
man to use such expressions? Evangelical Preachers! Yes, 
Evangelical Preachers first cursed men to hell in the pulpit, and 
these vile beings curse them in the streets. Whether then are 
the preachers in the pulpits, or the vile characters in the streets 
most to blame? Certainly the Preachers! For if God does what 
they say, to those who offend him, we have as good a right to act 
similarly towards those who offend us? All relioion consists in 
imitation of God. If men wish cursing to be banished from the 

*For this purpose, I have an hundred times, publicly challenged to the con- 
test the advocates of misery, in another state of existence. 

8 



58 ' MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

streets, let them first banish it from the sacred desk! If God do 
not forgive those who offend him, how can he ask us to forg,ive 
those who offend us? To resolve these queries bj a reference to 
Divine sovereignty, is to make the case worse: for it only repre- 
sents God the greater tyrant, in proportion to his illimitable pow- 
er, and hides from view his goodness, justice, and mercy, which 
are as unbounded as his power. Therefore, just as sure as the 
vilest cursings are offensive to the ear of a pious and sober man, 
just so sure are the doctrines of Hell and the Devil injurious, 
false, and blasphemous. 

Returning from Buffalo, I visited West Bloomfield, where I 
•experienced much friendship, at the house of Elias D. Wight, 
who, in company with a few others, engaged me to preach a few 
months, in that vicinity. During this time I preached occasional- 
ly at Richmond and Livonia, and formed a Society, of which 
John Adams and Joshua Philips are worthy members. About 
this time I had a public controversy with some methodist preach- 
ers, an abstract of which was then published, and is here inserted 
in the form of a dialogue. Though in that part between me and 
Mr. Williams, each had fifteen minutes allowed to reply, yet no- 
thing is here presented, but as answer, in a few words, contain- 
ing the substance of what was said> taken from minutes of the 
discussion. 

Richmond, (Ont.) AugUvSt 10. While preaching from I John 
iv. 14, I cited 1 Tim. iv. 10. The Rev. Mr. Wright, Methodist 
Minis'iter, being present, interrupted me by citing, with peculiar 
emphasis, the last part of the verse. I turned and sHid to him., 
Sir, you are either ignorant of the language or doctrine of the 
Apostle, for Paul hath plainly asserted, '"God is the Saviour of 
all men," which proposition is true, and independent of the 
second in the text, viz: ^*especially of them that believe." I 
then observed to the congregation, I feared no consequences, if 
any gentleman was prepared to address them with greater advan- 
tage to the interests of truth and piety, I would immediately 
yield, being persuaded that none could successfully contradict 
my discourse, otherwise than by proving the apostles false teach- 
ers. 

Mr. W, then addressing the people remarked, that I had talk- 
ed much of Jesus as a Saviour, but never informed them from 
what he saved men. This he thought was of the highest impor '■ 
tance. He then told us, Jesus saved men from original sin, and 
by his death procured an offer of salvation to all men. He as- 
serted salvation to be conditional 5 cited Mark xvi. 16, and ex- 
claimed, what damnation is this.^ If the wieked receive all 
their punishment in this world, the righteous must also receive 
their reward, consequently, there is no heaven nor salvation after 
death. God cannot save men in their sins, and if they die in 



MEMOIR or THE AUTHOR. 59 

them they must go to hell. He then referred to 2 Cor. v. 11, 
and spoke ol the terrors of the Lord. Here he began to vocifer- 
ate, and beat the desk most tremendously. He afterwards obser- 
ved that I labored to make men Universalists, not Christians, 
but because he knew the terrors of the Lord, he warned them 
against me as one of the false prophets spoken of, Ezek. xiii. 
Here he ended his parody. 

I replied. The angel commanded Joseph to call his son .Tesus, 
because he shall save his people from their sins, and not merely from 
original sin, as Mr. VS . had asserted. If Jesus save men from 
original sm only, then he is no Sa\iour, and tlie name is misap- 
plied. If God damn men to all eternity, can he torment them 
any longer.^ If not, of what advantage is the pardon of original 
sin? Secondly, If God. cannot save man in his sins, who shall 
save him? If man must be delivered from his sins before God, 
or Christ become his Saviour, ran either of them be called a Sav- 
iour? Is not man his own Saviour? "What salvation does he 
need, when he has freed himself from sin! As to the words 
damned, damnation, there is not a word in all the original Scrip- 
tures, which will bear to be so translated. This will appear evi- 
dent by translating the original word damned, wherever it occurs. 
Thus he that believeth not shall be ilamned.* The Father damn- 
eth no man, but has cmimitted all damnation to the Son.t God 
sent his Son not to damn the world. | Who then can damn men? 
If God and Christ do not, can the Devil? If so, he must be more 
potent than the Almighty, for he wills that all should be saved, || 
and sent his Son to save the world, § and to destroy the Devil and 
his works.^ Mr. W. infers that if the words of Solomon be 
true,*^ those of Peter must be false.f But let him read his Bible 
before he undertake to combat Universalism, and he will find an- 
swers to all his ignorant and irreverent objections. About the 
meaning of Ezek. xiii. I will not contend: Jer. xxiii. from the 
22d to the S3d verse will answer my purpose. God sayft "Ag is 
against the dreamers that use their fon^ue^, and >ay he saith. 
Jude also speaks of filthy dreamers. As Mi. W. is unable to 
support his opinions by Biblical testimony, let him go to the cred- 
ulous dupes of superstition, to publish his dreams, and proclaim 
the terrors of a frantic imagination. We say to men, Fear not. 
God is love, and the Lord God Omnipotent reigns alone. 

Mendon, Munroe, August 13. I preached from Isa. iii. 12. 
After service five Methodist Preachers assembled for combat, and 
the following Socratic disputation ensued: 

The Rev. Mr. Williams commenced the attack, by deman- 
ding if I believed God had foreordained whatsoever comes to 
pass. 

'^ Mark xvi. 16. f John v. 22. [f John iii. 17. [jl Tim. ii. 4. § 1 John 
h. 1 4. "ir Heb. ii. 24. 1 Joha iii. 8. f Prov. ii. 31 . 1 1 Pet. i. 3. 4, 



6& 



IMElvroi'R OF f HE AUTHOR. 



Tliompson. T believe and teach God has foreordained the s^- 
Vation of the whole human family, and will bring it to pass. 

W. r ain requested to ask you to reply, yes, or no, to my ques- 
tions, without any qualification or illustration. 

T. I am not a Calvinist, neither came I to discuss the doctrine 
of necessity. If you desire information on tfaat subject read the 
works of Leibwitz, Hart!ey, and Prii'siley. 

fF. I beg to decline the perusal of these authors, and demand 
a reply to my first question, 

T. Sir, if your question include all things, even the most mi- 
nute, I reply, no: for 1 do not believe God foreordained a child to 
cry, and its nurse to rock the cradle. 

ff. 1 am desired to change the question, and ask, Do you be- 
lieve God has decreed all moral events or actions? 

T. Sir. I believe you do not intend to discuss the subject fair- 
ly but to obtain an opportunity of exciting against me the preju- 
dires of the vu'gar. If you insist on a reply, I must be allowed 
to ask you, do you believe God foreknew whatsoever comes to 
pass? 

fi\ We came not to answer but to ask questions. 

T. Then you ccmfirm my suspicions of your intentions. I 
teach, G )d hath predestined all men to eternal salvation, 'accor- 
ding to the good pleasure of his own will, and that he worketh 
all things after the counsel of his own will, and refer you to 
Ephesians i. 4 — 12. 

fV. We believe that God decreed that all might be saved if 
Ihey would. 

T. Then you believe that God decreed just nothing, or that he 
decreed his will, should be determined by man's. 

fF, You will not come to terms. Therefore we will not con- 
tinue the debate. 

T. The terms are evident, I came here to preach the salvation 
of all men; you to calumniate the doctrine. If you are able to 
T.efute it, I pray you proceed. 

fF. You will not commence at the beginning. 

T. God determined to create and beatify a world of mankind, 
lliere is the beginning. He governs them according to his good 
purpose, there is the middle; and he will effect the salvation of 
all his intelligent offspring, there is the end. Now, gentlemen, 
you have the beginning, middle and end of God's designs, and of 
my preaching, and you feel yourselves unable to oppose either. 

Here a motion was made by th ? Rev. Mr. Weeks for an ad- 
journment, and the appointment of a committee to determine the 
subject, and manner of debate. . During some altercation which 
followed, an aged man stood up, and addressed the audience. 

Gentlemen — I have come twelve miles to hear this debate. I 
wish to know, before I return, whether tlie Salvationists or Dam- 
nutionists shall gain the victory. If the Salvationists, I go home 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. Gj. 

SKJoicing. If not, I shall return mourning. Gentlemen, I have 
a family, and [ love them. (Here the tears flowed copiously, and 
the man showed great agitation.) Having stood in speechless 
perturbation for some time, he proceeded. Gentlemen, I fear 
not for myself. For twenty years, my faith in the Divine IMer- 
cy has remained unshaken, but I feel for others. O, let me know 
if 1 iViay reasonable hope for the salvation of my family. 

T. Men, women, and children, go to your homes, congratulate 
each other, »ve are all about to meet shortly in heaven. Tell your 
neighbours here are several Methodist Preachers, who are unable 
to cite a single text for the existence of hell or the devil, or a 
punishment, after death. I have preached to you the glorious 
Gospel of the blessed God. If you love your neighbours asvvell 
as yourselves, yeu will come to hear me, but if you are partial 
and malevolent, and desire to see the destruction of those who 
may have offended you, then you will go to hear these Methodist 
Ministers, who preach the horrid doctrine, that God hates his 
creatures, and will send the greater part of them to endless 
misery. 

The audience was then dismissed, and the meeting adjourned 
until Wednesday, the 27th inst. 

August 2r, met according to adjournment. The house being 
incapable of receiving the people, men were sent to erect seats in 
the woods. In the mean time our Methodist brethren invited 
the people to a capacious and elegant church, lately erected in 
Mendon. The Rev. J. Badger, and T. Dixon, Esq being ap- 
pointed Chairmen, and Dr. Knickerboker and Dr. Allen, Secreta- 
ries, the subject of debate was demanded. 

Thompson. Everyman must know that the subject is, whether 
all men or only a few shall be saved. 

- Willams. Mr. Thompson has asserted, there is no punishment 
after death. Let him maintain or abandon the assertion. 

T. Mr. Williams and his brethren, preach the doctrine of end- 
less misery. Let them support their sentiments. Notwithstand- 
ing, if they acknowledge the restitution of all things, or admit 
that they are unable to oppose the final salvation of all men, I 
will maintain the full and eternal salvation of all mankind. 

W, You are bound to do so. We have met you to combat 
that sentiment. You hnve said five Methodist Elders had a3:reed 
to debate, and you were willing to grant them their own terms. 

T. 1 suppose there are twice that number oi you, bat I care 
not whether there are five or fifty -five. You appegr like men 
shut up in a city, strongly besieged and bombarded by the ene- 
my. Conscious that your stores are scanty, and the enemy pow- 
erful and vigorous, ye are desirous of being as parsimonious rfs 
possible. Have your own terms. 

W. Prove your doctrine, that all pain is temper^/. 



62 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

T. I have asserted the doctrine, it is jours to disprove what I 
have affirmed. 

W, We wish to hear your manner of defence. 

T. Professors of the religion of Jesus — A.t the age of fifteen I 
determined to be a Minister of Christ. Since that period of life, 
twenty years have been spent searching for truth, which I ever 
have considered as a pearl of great price.* I am forced to become 
your preacher on this occasion. Forced, did I say? O, no I my 
soul exults in God my Saviour, that €ver he counted me faithful, 
by putting me into the ministry. Assisted by a liberal education, 
and I trust an unprejudiced mind, I have laboured night aad day, 
till it has pleased God that the films of ignorance and prejudice 
should fall from my eyes. Now I regard my opponents as the 
SaHdacees, to whom Jesus says,t *'Yon do greatly err, not know- 
ing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrec- 
tion they are as the angels of God in heaven. " Yes, my hear- 
ers, these men are ignorant of the Scriptures, concerning the res- 
urrection, and God's almighty transforming power, which shall 
change our vile bodies into his own likeness. Shall any of Ad- 
am's offspring, rise in sinful unhappy circumstances at the resur- 
rection? Jesus, faithful and true witness! thou shalt decide, 
*^Th?y are equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, 
being the ckildren of the resurrection.":}: Then permit me to ask, 
have not Jesus, Paul, and John, for ever settled the controversy? 
O, yes, your conscience will affirm, your attachment to the re- 
ligion of Jesus will compel you to admit, that in the resurrection, 
all shall be happy. Shall my opponents say, the witnesses con- 
tradict themselves? If they attempt to maintain this, they will 
ruin their own cause as well as mine 5 for in doing so, they will 
overturn the evidence of Christianity. Though I believe the ar- 
gument drawn from the resurrection is as immoveable as the pil- 
lars of Heaven, yet I can bring additional evidence before you, 
when needed. My opponents will not dare to deny that God lo- 
ved the whole world, when he gave his Son to die for it.§ Zeph- 
aniahjl declares, ''God shall rest in his love." John says, ''Those 
whom Christ loved once, he loved to the end."^ '"'God's love is 
everlasting.''* 0, my fellow preachers, renounce a God that 
will save to day, and damn to-morrow; he is not worthy your 
confidence. In him you cannot find rest for your souls! Jeho- 
vah, the Father of us all, is Almighty, infinitely wise and good. 
As soon shall the eternal reservoir of means, which Jehovah has 
in his eternal power, be exhausted, as he shall suffer one of his 
little ones to fall into the regions of despair, or divine* aban- 
donment. 

fr. Jesus says, few shall be saved,* and Paul, that the wick- 

* Matt. xiii. 46. f Matt. xxii. 29, 30. |Luke xx. 36. Read RorTi. iii. 19- 
— 22, and 1 Cor. xv. from the 35tb verse to to the end. See also Phil, iii 
21, and 1 John iii. 2.- JJoho iii. 16. !| iii. 17. IT John xiii 1. *Jer. xxzi. 3. 



MEMOIR GF THE AUTHOR. 63 

ed shall be "punished with everlasting destriictioh. (Here he 
commented.) 

T. I predicted that my opponents would endeavor to make 
Christ contradict himself. If they had read their Bibles, they 
would have known that the terms saved., salvation^ are used in 
a temporal as well as spiritual sense; and the term destruction, 
implies annihilation, or, at least, decomposition, consequently, 
there can be no pain after death. 

W. I can cite a passage where you must admit, des-troy, does 
not mean to annihilate. ''0, Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself. 
Destroy this body, and I will raise it up." 

T. Jesus says, destroy this temple, i. e. take asunder all its 
component parts; consequently, it shr.ll t ease to be a temple; i, e. 
the temple shall be annihilated. O, Israel thou hast destroyed 
thyself; as a people, or body politic. 

W. Jesus says, fear him, that after the body is dead, can des- 
troy both soul and body in helL H^re is pain after death. 

T. You have not proved the proposition. For if the body 
were dead, as the text presupposes, then, as a dead body, it 
could not feel pain in dissolution, even by fire. And if the soul 
be immaterial and immortal, as you affirm, it could not be des- 
troyed, nor decomposed. If it be material and mortal, it died 
with the body, and was unconscious; consequently, there could 
be no pain after death. Moreover, no honest man would have 
translated the original world, ^chennah^ by the term, hell; nor 
would any rational man suppose an immaterial soul could be des- 
troyed by material fire. 

U\ The unbeliever shall not see life, his part shall be taken 
out of the book of life and the holy city. 

L. If the unbeliever cannot see life, and you cannot deny but 
that all have been unbelievers, then we must all go to hell togeth- 
er, and your doctrine i* universar damnation. If you reat; Dan. 
xii. 1, 2, 7, and Rev. xii. 7; xx. 9, and 21 to 26, you will ea- 
sily see, that the book of life and the holy city,refer to the circ uui- 
gtances of an ecclesiastical polity, and not to those of heaven. 
Paul says, man's unbelief shall not make the faith of God of none 
effects God has concluded them all in unbelief, that he might 
have mercy on all.* 

W. The terms everlasting and eternal, are applied to the pun- 
ishment of the wicked, ar.d also to the Deity. Now, if these 
words mean not endless, we cannwt prove that God or the saints 
shall be eternal, or that heaven shall be eternal. 

T. This argument is a mean sophism, which will appear ridic- 
ulous when unmasked. Thus, I anx tall, the steeple of this 
church is tall; therefore, 1 am as tall as the steeple. Napoleon 
is greats God is great; therefore. Napoleon is as great as God, 
I 8tand prepared to prove, that the word translated everlasting i 
* Rom. iii. 3, and xi. 3,2. 



64 , l^EMOIB. OF THE AUTHOR. 

eternal, is. by the best authorities, Homer, and the sacred wri- 
ters, limited to the age of the youngest person in this church. 

W. You can probably prove the word, everlasting, to mean 
only one day. 

T. I did not say so — but Jonah limits its extent to three days* 
And I defy any respectable Greek scholar to say it means end- 
less, without blushing. 

W. It IS applied to the punishment of the wicked, in connex- 
ion with the j&aal judgment.* 

T. If you would look at the adverbs used in the 31st verse, and 
then read Matt. xvi. 27, 28, Matt. xxiv. 3, unto the S5th. John 
xxi. 21. 23. 1 Pet. iv. 7, you would be forced to admit the judg- 
ment is past 1700 years, and consequently the punishment was 
temporal. 

fV. The sin against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven in 
this world, nor in that which is to come. 

T. Sir, you preach, and your discipline asserts, that Jesu^ 
made a full atonement, oblation and sacrifice, for the sins of the 
whole world. If Jesus paid the debt, how could it be forgiven? 
According to orthodoxy, God forgives no sin, however small. 
Moreover, if a man commit murder, and be put to death for it, 
shall any pretend that the man was forgiven? 

W. Do you admit there is any sin? Let this be decided. 

T. I know not what you call sin; prav explain Acts ii. 23^ 
Si^d iv. 28. How could the Jews crucify Jesus with wicked hands, 
when del'vered by the determinate counsel of God? 

W. God delivered him for our offences, or offered him as a Sa- 
viour, and the Jews put him to death? 

T. Then the Jews did much more to save the world, than God, 
for he only offered Jesus to be a Saviour, and the Jews by killing 
him, made him a Saviour; this is the best account I ever heard of 
them. 

W. We believe the Jews did not put Jesus to death. The Lord 
made him an offering, and his wrath lay heavy on him, and occa- 
sioned the death of Christ. 

T. I hear something more horrible, than I have ever before 
heard fall from the lips of a man, viz: that the wrath of God kill- 
ed Jesus, whom, with an audible voice from heaven, he had de- 
clared to be his well beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased. 

W. Then the Father might deliver Christ, and ^he Jews, as 
free agents, might put him to death. 

T. So then the Father only helped Judas to betray Jesus, and 
consequently Judas, was a co-worker with God. The term agent, 
cannot apply to man, who is entirely dependent. Pilate and the 
Jews did only what God's power and wisdom had predetermined 
to be done. Acts. iv. 28. Jesus said to Pilate "You could have 
no power against me, except it were given you from on high."t 
*Ma:t. xxy. 46. f John xix. 11. See Gen. 1. 20. Isa. xlv. 7, k Am. iii. Cy 



!!llEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 6^0 

TV. Then you do not believe in original sin, nor total deprav-i- 
^, consequently no change of nature is needed. 

T. I know not what you call original sin; you tell me of the 
devil sinning in heaven, which if true, was before Adam sinned. 
Then you tell of Adam's sin being original. You talk of man's 
changing his nature, first to evil then to good. 1 believe all such 
stories, to be fanatical and imaginary. Every man has the na- 
ture God gave him, and God will never damn one man for anoth- 
er's oifence. 

W. I don't say he will, Jesus saves men from the sin of Adam 
and all its consequences. 

T. When wUlJesus save man from Adam's sin and all its con- 
sequences? 

W. In the resurrection. 

T. You have stated that human depravity and corrupt nature, 
as well as all actual sin flow from Adam. Now the argument is 
at an end. You have either committed yourself, or you are as 
much a Universalist as myself. 

At a meeting of the Genesee Association, Se^jtember 24, 1823, 
I applied for fellowship and ordination, which wei-e both granted. 
It may here be asked, were you a preacher so long without ordi- 
nation.^ I answer, yes; for though I was examined and appointed 
a preacher, among the Methodists, at the quarterly meeting in the 
cityof Derry, June 1813, neither I nor any other Methodist prea- 
cher in the British Isles, was ever ordained to be a Minister iu 
said British Isles; for there Methodists are republicatj, in Ameri- 
ca they are aristocrats; Proteus like, any thing to please. Hence, 
in England, there is no form of ordination attempted among the 
Methodists. But in America, forsooth, Jesus Christ, if the Meth- 
odist'representation be true, being offended at democratical equal- 
ity vvhich he once taught his disciples and the Methodists of Eng- 
land, chan^ied his administration, and established, Jure DivuiOy 
Episcopal hierachy, acconling to which, a man must have one or- 
dination for a Deacon, another for a Priest, ami at least a third 
for a Bishop! a specimen of ridiculous boyish foppery, not excee- 
ded in all the reveries of fanaticism, the pride of papal arrogancy, 
nor the usurpation of political despotism. An assumption whicli 
can only exist where the New Testament is disbelieved or set at 
open defiance. 

The one ordination to the office of Presbyter, is the lowest an,d 
highest which the New Testament sanctions in relation to the sa- 
cred ministry: and thus the subject was understood in the primi- 
tive church. The Presbyterian form of church discipline is there- 
fore the most correct. Christian, Apostolic, and rational iu exis- 
tence, and all other forms are more or less scriptural and perfect, 
in proportion as they approximate to the Presbyterian. This is 
ttot the opinion of pr^udiee nor inejcperieoce, it is the result of 

9 



66 UIEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

long, rFisinterested and careful examination. I submit to forn^ 
otutiiity and decorum, and desire to see them observed, but I am 
persuaded neither ordination nor consecration makes a bad man 
good or a good better. It is clear that Barnabas and Saul were 
preachers in the days of the apostles, for some time, before thej 
were ordained to the ministry.* As a specimen of the usual 
form, we insert the following certificate of Ordination. 

To all ivhom it may Concern. 

''This certifies that tlie Rev. John S. Thompson, being an ap- 
proved minister of the Gospel, was, at Pittsford, !N. Y. Septem- 
ber 25, 1823, publicly ordained as an Evangelist, in full fellow- 
ship with the Genesee and Western Associations of Universal- 
ists; and is hereby reeounnended to the patronage, confidence, 
and br ittieriy kindness of a'l, who believe in the ''Restitution of 
all thiiigs, " and love our Lord, in sincerity. 

By order of the Genesee Association. 

Attest SOLIVRR Af KLEY, > ^j, , 

Attest, ^ j^_-^TvitTEL A. SKEELE, S 

ISAAC WHITNAL, Moderator. 

Having begun to preach, occasional^, in Rochester, I removed 
thither shortly .sfter the Association. Here I preached every sec- 
ond Sabbath in, each mon*^h. I also held evening lectures, on Fri- 
<iay of every week for the first three months, and submitted to be in- 
terrojrated on all religious subjects, by any member of the congre- 
gation. As might have been expected, a vast variety and a mot- 
ley collection of questions were proposed. Finding that many 
gained confidence and freedom of speech by this means, I insti- 
tuted a Berean Society for the discussion of religious subjects in- 
discriminately. The subjects discussed were as follow: The 
Nature of the Soul; The Doctrine of the Trinity; The Deity of 
Jesus; The pre existence of Christ; The existence of Satan: 
Does the Old Testament teach the doctrine of a future existence? 
Does a man's belief or unbelief facilitate or retaixl his entrance 
to Heaven? Is there any pain in another mode of existence? 
The doctrine of the Atonement: &c. 

During this year, I published tlie "Rochester Magazine and 
T^leological Reviev/;" w^hich, though somewhat severe, was not 
ill adapted to check the proud pretentions of partiality, and ex- 
cite a more particular attention to the doctrine and criticism of 
the Bible. In the fourteenth page of this work, replying to a 
pamphlet by Mr. Covel, in which he charged Universalism with 
a licentM)us tendency, I nnswered: "We admit, Sir, that the 
character of God may be both slandered and traduced, even as 
basely as you have done in your pamphlet! But what follows? 
*See Acts 13. 1— 4. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 6T 

Chastisement, fatherly chastisement! Look out for the rod, Sir, 
it cannot be far otF." Far off it was notl for in four or iive weeks 
after, his tieath took place in the most sudden and unprecedented 
manner! As we said in the Magazine, so now, we- do not allege 
this case as absolute proof of our doctrine, but the whole history 
of orthoda^y, cannot prove one so well authenticated fact in its 
favor. The means by which he and some other Methodist prea- 
chers at Rochester, carried their opposition towards me and the 
doctrine I taught, was fully characteristic of the sect; but for the 
sake of humanity, 1 decline publishing the disgusting detail of 
particulars. 

Shortly after this, a certain man arriving in Rochester, thought 
it was his duty to conlound me with argument, expose the vileness 
of Universalism, and perhaps do something worthy of all praiiic. 
Imaiediately on entering my room, where I sat writing, he com- 
menced his address in such wise, that I soon perceived his in- 
tent. Sir, I am a stranger, I am informed you are a Universal- 
ist preacher. There are diiiiculties in the way of your doctrine, 
which seem to me insurmountable; and I wonder how yo^ can 
g^t over them. Na»ie the principal said I. The sin against the 
Holy Ghost. What of it? Those who commit that sin must go 
to Hell! What sort of a place is Hell? A place of eternal bur- 
nings. Will we have the same bodies then, and be capable of 
the sime feelings? Yes. Well Sir, there is no reason why we 
should be much concerned; for one minute will despatch us, and 
pain will be at an end. Not so. Sir, said he, G^d will make us 
all able to endure the fire. Well, Sir, replied I, only let us un- 
derstand the matter, and there is no necessity for alarm. If God 
make us complete salamanders, we ghall like the fire as the fish 
do the waters. He departed v/ithout reply. 

I should not have left Rochester, had I succeeded to obtained a 
Church, but the Society was too timid, and perhaps too weak, to 
build a house of sufficient size and respectability: and through 
the inconvenience, arising from the want of a suitable place of 
worship, the prospect? of tl^e Society wore darkened. During the 
months of January, February, and March, 1825, I preached one 
half of the time at Palmyra, in the xlcademy. The meetings were 
as respectable, and nearly as numerous as at any other place of 
worship in that township, and I have no doubt but the foundation 
was then laid of a respectable Society in that village. 

A Methodist preacher who attended two of my discourses at 
Palmyra, observed to some of the congregation, that if the Lord 
would convert me, I would make an excellent minister. As to 
conversion, if he meant religious impressions, I have been ac-" 
quainted with these from my youth up, but if he meant a change 
of opinion from the knowledge of the Father as the only true 
God, and Jesus whom he hath sent as the Saviour of the world, I 
believe God will never convert me nor any other man from it to 



6'<l MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

thee:loomy darkness of doubtfulness and the cancerous /infection 
of blind partiality. May the Lord ever save me from the despe- 
rate and pernicious influetice of superstition, on the one hafi[d, 
and the unhallowed miserable tendency of unbelief and hardness 
of heart, on the other: that I may, through grace, walk in the 
middle path of truth and righteousness, and thereby adorn the 
doctrine of God my Savi©ur in all things. 

At the house of my worthy friend, P. Holmes, Palmyra, I 
had an interview with an impeccable Methodist, who had enjoyed 
full sanctification for five years; and positively said he could not 
sin! We held a close discussion for about one hour, which ter- 
minated thus: 

Z. I pray thai you may be convinced of your error. 

T. Can you realiy pray in faith for me.^ 

Z. I ought. 

T. And for all men.^ 

Z. Yes. 

T. Then you must be a Universalist; for none but Universal- 
ists can pray, as the Scriptures direct, for all men. 

Z. I was once a Universalist, but the Lord convinced me I 
was wrong. 

T. What made you a Universalist? 

Z. Following my carnal reason. 

T. What convinced you of your mistake?. 

Z. The spirit of the Lord and my Bible. 

T. If your Bible convinced you, you can tell us what passages 
Were instrumental in producing this effect. 

Z. The Bible generally. 

T, You must be particular and name the very words which say 
that Universalism is an error. 

Z. If I should begin to reason about the Bible, as you do, I 
should be a Universalist yet. 

T. Then it is clear, your reason teaches you to be a Universal- 
ist still, and only tratiition and your own imagination teach you 
that it is an error. 

Z' I admit ray reason leads me to be a Universalist, 

T, Does it even now lead you to believe so? 

Z, It does. 

T. Then, Sir, instead of your being a sanctified person, you 
are, most assuredly, a great hypocrite, pretending to be a Metho- 
dist, when in reality, you believe Universalism; for no man exis- 
ting can believe, otherwise than as his reason determines. 

Z. T desire to be guided by the spirit. 

T. Men profess to be guided by the same spirit, to very differ- 
ent results. The Quaker says, wait in silence; the Methodist 
says, sing and pray lustily; the Calvinist says,' Christ died only 
for a few; the Arminian says he most assuredly died for all. In 
all this contradiction, Protestants pretend to be guided by the 



MEMOIR OF 'CUM. AUTHOR. 69 

fspirtt of the Lord, whilst the Roman Catholic aftirins the whole 
to be a daamable heresj# 1 therefore will follow no guide contra- 
ry to my reason. 

In 1825, I removed to Utica, and commenced the publication 
of "The Universa.isty" a periodical paper, designed to dissemi- 
nate the doctrine of Universal Benevolence. Here I delivered 
two discourses. Sabbath the 24th April, on the doctrine of Uni- 
versalism, and have continued to preach statedly, from that time, 
in the Court House. My labors in this place, I trust, have been 
blessed; and in a religiously barren heath, where nothing but 
weeds grew, a goodly Society has been established, which prom- 
ises to prosper beyond the warmest anticipations. 1 have found- 
ed the Societies of Richmond and Livonia, Rochester, and Uticaj. 
out of entirely new materials: for as yet I have entered into no 
man's labors; but have preaclied where Christ was not named as 
a Universal Saviour t In this I rejoice: andniyjoyno man ta- 
keth from me. 

As the Constitutions adopted by these Societies were fonned by 
me, and, consequently, essentially the same, I will here pre- 
sent that of the Society of Utica, which I intend to inculcate, 
every where, as far as the Lord may prosper me, or my infltience 
extend, 

Utica, November 21, 1825. 

A number of persons, believing the doctrine of God's impartiat 
and universal love, liaving assembled in the Court House, according 
to lawful and public notices, with a view to organize a religious 
Society, and having appointed Rev. John S. Thompson, Chair- 
man, and John L. Carpenter, Clerk, they proceeded to adopt the 
following resolutions. 

I. This Society shall be distinguished by the appellation of the 
"First Universalist Society of Utica, N. Y." 

II. Its officers will consist of Five Trustees, chosen according 
to law, and a Clerk and Treasurer, to be chosen annually. The 
Clerk shall keep faithfully, all papers belonging to the Society, and 
transmit them to his successor in «ffice. The Treasurer shall re- 
ceive and preserve all monies\ii the Society, keep a faithful ac- 
count, dispose of them according to the direction of the Ti us- 
tees, and transfer what may remain, with a correct record of his 
account., [audited by the Clerk) to his successor in office. 

III. The Society will meet annually, on the anniversary of its 
organization, to choose its officers, and transact such business as 
may come before it Special meetings, however, may be called 
by the Trustees, at the request of ten members, and every member 
shall be entitled to vote at every meeting of the Society,, awl all 
matters determined by a majority of votes. 



70 Memoir, of the authoh. 

IV. There shall be a Standing Committee, consisting of 
three members^ sI-li The Minister and two Deacons, whose bu- 
siness shall be to attend to tue moral character of candidates and 
members; and to make regular reports of their proceedings to the 
annual or special meetings of the Society. 

V. Candidates for fellowship, must be proposed to the Stand- 
ing Committee; and if approved, may be admitted on suhscri- 
6w^ to the Constitution: 'and members who may wish to with- 
draw, shall receive a certificate of moral character. 

VI. This Society will continue the ordinances of Baptism and 
the Lord^s supper; and leave to the conscience of every member, 
not only the observance, but also the manner of administration. 

VII. This Society adopts the following Articles of Faith, in 
its Constitution, to vvhich all its members trdly assent. 

V^e believe in One Eternal, Unchangeable, and Infinitely Wise, 
Good, and Powerful Lord God, who is the sole Creator, Proprie- 
tor, and Governor of the Universe, the common Father^ and impar- 
tial Benefactor of all Mankind. 

We believe 'Jehovah, who spoke in times past by the Jewish 
Prophets, h^s spoken to us by his Son Jesus, The Christy whom 
he hath appointed heir of all things; and by whom as the Mediator, 
he will bring all his intelligent offspring to eternal purity and hap- 
pinoss. 

We believe virtue and happiness, vice and misery are insep- 
arably connected, as cause and effect; and, consequently, in or- 
der to be happy, men must do justly^ love mercy, and walk humbly 
with their God. 

On surveying my history during the last three years, I feel tru- 
ly thankful to the Father of lights and God of all grace, for the 
improvement I have made in the better understanding of the holy 
Scriptures, and for the assistance I have been enabled to afford to 
others. I have new modelled the faith of thousands as well as 
my own. I have assisted in re-organizing the Western Associa- 
tion, and in forming the Hudson River Association, and the Uni- 
versalist Convention in this State. I have disseminated the Gos- 
pel, by personal ministry, over all that country lying on the Great 
Western road from Little Falls to Buffalo, extending northward 
towards the Lakes; and also, occasionally in Genesee, Livingston, 
Ontario, Cayuga, and Madison to the south. By my preaching 
and publishing the frozen zones of scepticism and partiality, as al- 
so the torrid zone of frantic enthusiasm, have been commuted for 
that temperate clime, benignly warmed by the moderate rays of 
a fructifyin;^ Sun, and gently cooled by refreshing breezes which 
tend to expand the f )liage, a-td produce health and abundance. 

To conclude, I am satisfied to have lived; and that / have never 
■in ail my life^ as far as I remember, been led by eitJierfear or hope, te 



MEMOIR. OF THE AUTHOIfr. 71 

^peak or act contrary to my convictions. I am content that I came 
to America, thankful that I joined the Universalists, and above 
all, I rejoice, that with the exception of the gentlemen whose 
names appear in my dedication, and the Rev. Richard Wright, 
Unitarian Missionary, 1 have yielded to no man in modern times, 
in assiduity, and I trust success, in labors of love for the eman- 
cipation of degraded human intellect. I say labors of love, for I 
have never received the sum of one thousand dollars as the pro- 
ducts of my ministry, during thirteen years, in which I have trav- 
elled over as many thousand miles for the dissemination of the 
Gospel. 

This perfectly answers to the eracular prediction of 1814. 
Most persons know, that among the Methodists it is common 
to attempt diviiiatitn by consulting fortuitously a passage in the 
Bible. Some of my friends having persuaded me to either seek a 
situation in the ministry that would afford me a decent support, 
or to forsake the profession, 1 was somewhat agitated in mind : 
and being in Newry, Ireland, I entered the Methodist Chapel, 
went to the pulpit, shut my eyes, and in the name of God, pushed 
my fmger into the Bible where I first touched it, saying, I select 
number 10 the first time it occurs on the right hand page. The 
passage was Ecclesiastes 5. 10, which reads thus: ''He that lov- 
eth silver shall not be satisfied with silvery nor he that loveth 
abundance with increase." I received the verse as the voice of 
God, and oh reading the next verse, "when goods increase, they 
are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the own- 
ers thereof, saving the beholding of them v.ith their ej'esr" I 
exclaimed, truth. Lord, the world is vanity! 0, may my life be 
spent in thy service. 

Before I left England, I dreamed Christ desceuijed from the 
firmament, in a glare of brightness, exceeding ten fold the brill- 
iancy of the meridian Sun, and that he eamc to me, saying: "I 
commission vou to go and tell mankind that I am come; and 
bid every man to shout victory." This I apply to my procla- 
mation of free and Universal Salvation! Socrates attributed all 
the good he did and taught to a j»;ood spirit, who continually at- 
tended him. He also believed that man mad^ who disbelieved the 
Divine influence! I agree with Socrates: there has not been one 
remarkable event of my life, of which I have not had previous in- 
timation; often God teaches by dreams, and David said his reins 
instructed him in the night seasons.* But never will 1, nor nev- 
er have I attempted, by such means, the proof of any doctrine not 
clearly taught in the Scriptures, and approved by an unprejudi- 
ced understanding. May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 
bless every well meant effort to advance his glory, and spread his 
Son's kingdom m the earth, till the knowledge of the Lord cover 
tlae earth as the waters the channels of the sct*s. — Ameri.. 

=-n's. 16. 7 



CHARACTER. 

It has been supposed, that the character of an authoi- is best 
drawn from his works, but this is not fully correct: and if it 
were, few men are of sufficient discernment to perceive the fea- 
tures of the painting, with due accuracy. The following des- 
cription is, therefore, presented to the public, under full assu- 
rance, that if self-love feas cast a veil over any feature, no man in 
existence can ever disprove any fact, in the narrative. I never ex- 
pected my name would have occupied so much of the public at- 
tention, but as it has been frequently traduced, a true picture is 
offered, for the satisfaction or amusement of my friends and ene- 
mies, according to their disposition. Being of the earth, earthly, 
I have, like most men, often felt my mind led captive by the con- 
trol of passion, whieh as a resistless monster, has frequently 
borne an unhallowed pre-eminence over the dictates of my un- 
derstanding; and induced me to exclaim with Paul: **0 wretched 
man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death?" * Irritability, in temperament, has often been my un- 
pleasant companion: and though I have often labored to defeat its 
attacks, being conscious of its bad tendency, yet I have found it 
as untamable as the constitution of nature. Every man retains 
that disposition of nature, with which h'e was born, which fre- 
quently fixes his character during life: but for its evil influence, 
he is no more blamable than for the color of his skin or the male- 
figut'ation of his body. It is well to meet the impulse of passion 
•with the most detepminate resolution to curb its action, as far as 
possible; but after the most persevering exertions, thousands of 
Adam's posterity, are left to groan being burdened, t However, 
I thank kind iitaven, that neither anger or hatred has ever led me 
to a single act of cruelty or malevolence, in all my life time. 
From early youth, when first I read the advice of the Apostle: :!: 
'*Let,not the Sun go down upon your wrath," I have never dar- 
ed to sleep, till I have felt reconciled to the whole human race. 
Indeed, the wise man has well said: '*anger resteth in the bosom 
of fools." Ij Notwithstanding, I have exper^ienced a disposition; 
common to many of my countrymen, not to confide in a person 
whom I have once found deceitful or insolent. My friends have, 
t^ierefore, been few; and my professions of friendship rare, and 
never dissembled. To fawn and flatter, I have left to clogs and 
syccfphants! I have often reflected on the words of Elihu: § 
"•Let me not accept any mail's person; for I know not to give flatter- 
ing titles. Decency of language, fvod propriety of address, I es- 
teem, but flattery I abhor; and have abhorred, in proportion, as 
•I have had occasion to believe it hypocritical or feigoed. I have 

*Rom. 7. -24. fRom. 8.22. V5. Cor. .5. 4. |Er)h;4. 26. jjEccl.. 
Ij 9. ^ Job. 22. 32. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, Z^ 

been sometimes accused of pride or ambition, but probably not 
deservedly, at least to any considerable extent^ for I have often 
thought as meanly of myself, as my accusers have represented. I 
am well convinced, that a man without a degree of self-love, \yiil 
never be capable of gratitude to God, or social duty to man. 
Some Philosophers have ascribed the moral sense to sympathy; and 
if this theory be correct, the less self-love the less morality. He 
that would violate this principle, offers an insult to the whole 
constitution of nature. A false humility I always despised, be- 
lieving, that as we ought not to think too highly of ourselves, * 
so neither ought we to think to(» meanly, and thereby despise the 
divine workmanship and benevolence. Hence, to describe my- 
self as being worse than I really believed, appeared to me as base 
detraction of character, as if I had been guilty of defamation in 
relation to others: and I venture to affirm, that whoever is liberal 
in self-defamation, will not hesitate to deal out the same meas- 
ure to his neighbour, which he may have meeted for himself. I, 
therefore, never thought it my duty to tell God or man, that I 
was either better or worse than I really and sincerely believed. 
A desire of emulation has frequently been felt, but envy never 
obtained tin entrance to my bosom; for I have always regarded 
it, as the sure mark of cowardice and conscious inferiority. 

I remember, in the year 1814, to have lost the favor of a broth- 
er preacher, and a company of very humble souls, at TuHamore, 
Ireland, because I would not consent to sing the lollowlng con- 
temptible piece of Wesleyan feigned humility : 

Make me little and unknown, 
Loved and prized by God alone! 

Having remonstrated strongly against the hymn when given, I 
would not contradict myself: therefore, while the preacher and 
company sang the above foolish composition, I sang the following 
hasty amendment, as distinctly as possible: 

Make me useful and well known, 
Loved of God, despised bv none. 

This, to be sure, was a great crime, in the eyes ef the sanctima- 
nious: but f had the satisfaction of telling God my desires, and 
they the folly of presenting prayers, which, they must have in- 
wardly hoped, would never be regarded by the Almighty. My 
mind has been my kingdom, over which I have maintained an ab- 
solute monarchy, yet not so as to excuse myself from the most 
abject and implicit obedience to its imperial dictates. Hence, I 
have never feared to follow nor to avow its convictions, both in 
Hiorality and doctrine. 

NuUius addictiis jurare in verba magistri. 

Oft when advised to sinful conformity, either in reality or ap 

*Rom. 12. 3, 
10 



f4 i^lEMOlU OF THE AUTfiOR. 

peatance, I liave felt the disposition to use, and have some* 
times actually applied, the woras of Jesus: '"get thee behind me 
satan.'' * Many men thing tbey play a noble /o/e, on the theatre 
of the religious world, if their preaching be admired, especially 
by other sects besides that to which they belong; but I have nev« 
cr known an honest man of this description. 1 hey are altogether 
such as preach themselves, and not Jesus Christ nor his Gospel, 
The meanest being on earth stands higher, in my approbation, 
than a deceitful whining preacher! And 1 verily believe, I and 
|jod are of one opinion on this subject. 

My language in speaking and writing has often been tart, and 
sometimes satyrical: X have often-^aeen advised by unthinking 
men, to avoid that manner, bucit is my manner: and if it cease, 
my identity is lost with it. Every man has his own character to 
acton the stage of time; and were he to perfectly mimic any 
other, his individuality, as part of God's design in creation, 
"Would be lost to the world. Besides there never was an instance 
of a great Reformer, in the hisrory of mankind, but combined in 
his discourse, more or less of the two foregoing characters of 
style. Among the Jews, may be particularized Elijah, Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, and others of the Prophets. Among the Christians^ 
Jesus, Paul, Calvin, Luther, and Knox. In none of my writings 
has the language used been more severe, than that which can be 
readily adduced from the sayings of these chief men, in the Jew- 
ish and Christian histories. If I am, therefore, condemned, let 
me stand and fall with the Jewish Prophets, Christ and his Apos- 
tles, and the Christian Reformers. 

1 beg to say, notwithstanding, I have' no desire to offend; and 
on the other hand, thank God, I have made no studied nor unlaw- 
ful efforts to please ! My object in preaching and writing, has 
been to inform the Judgment and convince the understanding — 
Ko efforts have been made to act the light headed school boy, by 
collecting glittering words, to form a bombastic or barbarian style. 
Matter has ever appeared much more important than the manner, 
though the latter has not been altogether neglected. It has ever 
appeared to me a decisive distinction between a great and a little 
soul, that the former esteems things according to their value, 
whilst the latter prefers trinkets and toys, being influenced by 
appearances more than substances. But the motto of a great 
soul is well expressed by the Latin Poet. 

Nil parvum aapit, et semper, sublimia curat. 

The love of learning has predominated, through all my life, 
over every other desire and passion of my soul: and though 1 
have no disposition to adopt the language of an ancient Philoso- 
pher, who said, *Mie would willing die if he could learn some- 
thing," yet I have always preferred books to clothes^ victuals, or 

Matt. 16. 2S. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 75 

companions. The first money I ever asked of my Father, was to 
purchase books: and my expense, on their account, has exceeded 
gS.OOO, which has all been deduced from a small salary, at no 
time exceeding §400, in the space of one year. Dura Res ! I 
have often grieved, that my hard fortune laid such an embargo ou 
my literary pursuits; but, saith Cowper: God moves in a mysterious 
way. However, thank heaven, parvo potens^ quia paupertatis stu- 
dio nohilis^ I have succeeded to the accomplishment of my pris- 
tine purpose. 

When I had proceeded so far in the study of Latin as to read 
Sallust, his introduction to the history of Catiline's conspiracy, 
attracted my atteation: 1 admired his language, and appropriated 
his choice, which has influenced the whole of my conduct; and 
should have the same effect an every reflecting mind Hoping 
thifit it may have like influence on some of my readers, I give 
place to the passage. 

*'All men who desire to excel other animals, ought to make the 
utmost exertions, that they may not pass life in silence like cat- 
tle, which nature has subjected to passion and appetite. All our 
powers are either mental, or corporeal-The first are common to us 
with God, the latter, with the beast. Wherefore, it appeared to 
me more proper, to seek glory by the efforts of the understanding, 
than by those of bodily strength; and seeing life is short, to ren- 
der my history as lasting as possible. The honors of riches and 
beauty are fluctuating and perishablej but virtue is esteemed glo- 
rious and eternal."* 

Hence, I have been the patron and admirer of science; and 
loved the fellowship of those who had nobly enlisted in the holy 
warfare of truth, science, and liberty, against error, barbarism, 
and oppression: and when I have heard ignorance or fanaticism 
raise its impious clamour against philosophy or literature, I have 
remembered and sometimes recited the excellent eulogy of Cice- 
ro. **Philosophy is the parent of all the good arts; it is nothing 
less than the invention and gift of God."t 

When I have beheld thousands of mankind, squander their pre- 
cious opportunities of improvement, and of doing good, in foolish 
plays and pastimes, I have thought of the a/lvisatory and beauti- 
ful language of the amiable Fenelon. '*Happy they, who amuse 

*Omois homines, qui sese student praestare caeteris animalibus, summa 
ope niti decet, ne vitam silentio transeant, veluti, pecora. quae natura 
prona, atque ventri obedientia, finxit. Sed nostra omnis vis in animo et 
corpore sita est. Altenim nobis cum Diis, alterum cum belluis commune 
est. Quo mihi rectius videtur, in^enii, quam virium, opibus gloriam quac- 
rere; et quoniam vita ipsa, qua fruimur, brevis est, memoriam no<ti'i quam 
maxime long* ra efficere. Nam divitiarum et formse gloria, fluxa atque 
fragilis est; virtus clara, aeternaque habetur. 

f Philospbia est 'niter omaium bonarum artiura, nihil est aliud nisi do- 
Hum et iaventum DejL. 



76 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, 

themselves by acqu^riag instruction, and who delight in cultiva- 
ting their minds by the sciences — Happy they, who love to read, 
and are not deprived of these inestimable privileges!* 

As to my habits, 1 hope and believe they have been regular, 
ecpnomical and industrious. Intemperance has seldom obtained 
a victory. Never once, throughout the journey of life, has my 
judgment been impaired or my understanding beclouded by in- 
toxication. Games of no kind have ever deprived me of one 
day during the period of my existence. I have n ver attended a 
Theatre but twice: once at Calais and once at London, I have 
never read one entire Play; nor a volume of Novels. My soul 
has loathed every thing that assumed the semblance of disguise 
or fiction, Truth, sacred, eternal truth, I desired and loved: 
and I soon perceived that it lay concealed; the search must be 
long and persevering, whilst my days were as a shadow! The 
pleasures and follies of the world, could, therefore, attain no as- 
cendency over my affections. My life has been habitually devo- 
tional: and for a world, I would not resign the consolations deri- 
ved from communion with God, in stated, daily prayer. 

As far as in me lay, I have endeavored to do justly and love 
mercy. If I have been of any use to my fellow men, I attribute 
M'hatever good I have done, to the favor and blessing of heaven. 
If I have injured any orie, it has been inadvertently, and never de- 
liheratehj'. therefore, I expect forgiveness from God and man. 
My expectation of mercy and hope of salvation, is founded on. 
the illimitable favor of my Creator, Father, and God, manifested 
through Christ Jesus. I therefore feel no anxiety about the con- 
cerns of another world. My hope is fired, and I feel resignation 
to the will and appointment of the sovereign disposer of all events. 
May his grace be sufficient for me, and his strength made perfect 
in my weakness. — ^Amen. 

REVIEW OF UNIVERSALISM. 

As the foregoing Memoir relates my change of opinion, first froni 
Presbyterianism to Methodism, and lastly, from Methodism to 
Universal ism; and as the knowledge of the last is, at present, 
much more limited, than that of the two former systems of reli- 
gious belief, I think a brief view of Universalism necessary to 
complete my Memoir. This seems the more essential, seeing 
there still exists a diversity of sentiment among Universalists; 
and because I have frequently been asked: "To what scheme of 
Universalism do you adhere?" '*What do you believe?" 

It is unnecessary to enter largely into detail. All Universal- 
ists oelieve their doctrine to be plainly taught in the Scriptures; 

IHou-'e-ix ceax qui se divertissent en s' instruisant, et qui se plaisent a 
cultiver ba- esprit par les sciences! — Heureux ceux qui aimeot a lire, et 
qui qo son t point prives- de la lecture! Telemaque it 2. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. TJ 

and therefore, believe it, because it is a doctrine of a well attes- 
ted Revelation. The proof or vindication of the doctrine is not 
what is here attempted, but only a concise historical sketch for 
general information. 

Ti)H title, U/iiversalist, arises from a belief in the final salva- 
tion of the whole human family, without exception: all, there- 
fore, who thus balieve are consistently styled Universalists, though 
their views of the .neaiis by which the salvation of mankind will 
be accanipli^hed, still lemain very different. However, all Uni- 
versalists may be distinctly divided into three classes, which, in 
acc'saraudaiion to received notions, I shall denominate Universal 
Hart R^'Morationists, Universalian Redemptionists, and Unitarian Uni- 
nersalists. 

1. rhe doctrine of Restoration to purity and happiness, has made 
a prominent feature in all the creeds of antiquity, from the earli- 
est dawn of historical information, throughout the annals of all 
nations which have made any conspicuous figure, on the theatre 
of terrene existence. It will be readily admitted by all compe- 
tent judges, that Egypt, Ju;^ea, and Hindoostan, gave laws and 
religion to the -vorld. Egypt is called the land of Ham, and was 
peopled by M'zraim, the son of Ham, by which name it is still 
known in the Hebrew language. From the tenth chapter of Gen- 
■esis, we learn that the earth was divided, in the days of Peleg, 
the grandson of Shem, and brother of Joktan; and that the sonsi 
of Joktan dwelt from Mesha to Sephar, a mountain of the East: 
and this district is supposed to correspond with that country 
called India. The sons of Shem were, Aram, Elani, and Asshur: 
of the first came the Syrians, of the second the Persians, of the 
third the Assyrians: Ham was father of Mizraim, Cush, and 
Canaan — of the first sprang the E^^yptiajisj of the second the 
Babylonians, of the third the Canaanites. 

Mr. Maurice, in a very elaborate work, entitled "A History 
of the Antiquities of India,"^ supposes that as soon as the earth, 
became sufficiently dry, either Noah himself, or a descendant of 
Shem, led on the first journey from the region «f Ararat, to the 
western frontier of India; and that this increasing Colony flour- 
ished, for a succession of ages, in innocence and happiness, prac- 
tising the pure Patriarchal rites of devotion, till the descendants 
of Ham invade;! and conquered India, and corrupted their ancient 
religion. Njw, it is easy to conceive, that the traditions of No- 
ah, would, in a great degree, be preserved for a long time, in the 
different branches of his family, which peopled Egypt, Babylon, 
Syria, Persia, Hindoostan, and China; and there can be no ne- 
cessity for beclou<Ung the origin of the ancient traditions, with. 
unneces.sary difficulties. It is generally admitted, that Ham and 
his oosteritv, first introduced the idolatry of the ancient nations^ 
and that E2;ypt sunplied the world with false gods. Still, how- 
ever, it must be inferred, that no vory essential difference could 



78 MEMOIR ep THE authoh7 

exist bet\feen the religious views of the ancient Hindoos and 
Egyptians. As the east was peopled by the posterity of Shem,who 
long held the un'ty and worship of the One Eternal, the purest 
traditions were derived from the east. Moreover, from Josephus, 
Justin, the abridger of Trogus Pompeius, and Eusebius, it appears 
that Abraham was famed over all the east, as a Theologian 
and Philosopher. We also learn from the 2oth chapter of Gene- 
sis, that Abraham gave portions to his sons by Keturah, and sent 
tl^em away eastward^ into the east country. Hence, the Brahmans, 
or Hindoo Priests, are supposed to have derived their name: for 
Brahman, is naturally derived from Abram, or Aram, implying 
descent from the Patriarch or his country. * 

The best writers allow; that the ancient teachers of mankind, 
did not act the Philosopher: their business was to deliver the an- 
cient traditions to the people; hence, all important changes must 
have been very slow and gradual. Now as the Veda, or Bible of 
the Hindoos, professes to have been written 1580 years before 
Christ, or near one hundred years before the Law was given to 
Moses at Sinai, a considerable sameness of opinion must have re- 
mained since that time. By the Gentoo doctrine concerning 
man's future destiny, we may form a tolerable correct view of the 
Patriarchal traditions in relation to this very important subject. 
Moreover, as the most perfect Philosophy of antiquity, was dis- 
tinguished, at different periods, by the appellation of Oriental^ 
Platonic, and Egyptian, it will easily appear, how uniform the 
opinion of antiquity was, from a brief view of each of these sys- 
tems. 

Oriental Philosophy universally contemplates man as a be- 
ing, originally created pure and happy, but on account of mis- 
conduct, arising from admixture with refractory and gross matter, 
he has become a fallen and degraded being. From whatever mis- 
take or misapplication of figurative language, the doctrine may 
have arisen, the transmigration of souls is generally believed all 
over the eastern nations. The professed design of the Metem- 
psychosis is to restore degenerate spirits to their pristine state of 
purity and happiness. The Hindoos represent the Deity as pun- 
ishing, only to reform his creatures; and that a grand period will 
arrive when all will be happy. The doctrine is taught in the 

* Some writers have been bold enough lo affirm, that no particulars of the 
epoch of Abraham are to be found in ancient profane history. Such, how- 
ever, may be convinced of their error by turning to Josephus, Antiq. c. 8. 
where he quotes the statement of Berosus, the Chaldean historian. And in 
Justm, lib. xxxvi. we have the testimony of Trogus Pompeius, who says, 'the 
Jews derive their orig-in from Damascus, a famous city of Syria, their kings 
were Abraham and Israel.' See also Clemens Alexandrinus, Strom. V, 
and Eusebius, lib. xiii. c. 12. This is also perfectly consistent with Scrip- 
ture, for we find it there stated, that he was a mighty prince, Gen. c. xxxiii. 
2. And even the sons of Ishmae! were twelve princes according to their ncc- 
Ums. Gen. c. xxy. 16. Bel. Hist. Relig. p. 72i 



HEMOIR OF THE AVTHOR^ 79 

€leeta and Institutes of Menu, believed to be nearly as ancient 
wiitings as tne booKs of Moses. In these Institutes there is a 
long ciiapter, on transmigration and final beatitude. Indeed, the 
Hindoo sacred books represent the whole Universe, as one vast 
field of purification for the difterent classes of degenerate exist- 
ences. Among the Japanese who are divided into the Sinto and 
Badso sects, no particular difference prevails on this subject. 
Tne Budso religion represents the souls of men and animals to be 
©f the sam 3 substance, differing only according to the nature of 
their bodies, and that the souls of men will be rewarded or pun- 
isued, according to their behaviour in this life; that all the vi- 
cious are after death tormented, for a certain time, according to 
the nature and number of their crimes, the number of years they 
spent on earth, and their opportunities for becoming good and vir- 
tuousj that when vicious souls have expiated their crimes, they 
are sent back to animate such vile animals, as they have resem- 
bled in their former state of existence, and hence, transmigra- 
ting into more and more noble bodies, by virtue and piety> 
they will attain to uninterrupted felicity: but the Sintos, 
who are the most ancient sect, do not seem to think of pain or 
punishment, in an unseen state; but believe that the souls of the 
good, are after death, immediately admitted to celestial enjoy- 
ment, whilst the souls of the wicked, are denied entrance, and 
condemned to wander till they have expiated their crimes. The 
OHental Philosophy is supposed to have been new modelled by 
Zoroaster, who adopting the principle, '^from nothing, nothing 
can be produced," taught that various orders of beings, have em- 
anated from the Deity, which are more or less perfect as they are 
at a greater or less distance from the Eternal Fountain of Intel- 
ligence; but as the human soul is a particle of this divine light, it 
will return to its source and partake of its native and happy im- 
mortality. Thus we see the doctrine of the Restitution, the pre- 
vailing feature of the Oriental Philosophy' ; and founded on tra- 
ditions as old as the Foe of the Chinese, or Noah of the Hebrews. 

The Platonic Philosophy received its name from Plato, the 
most distinguished disciple of Socrates, whb flourished about 400 
years before Christ. On the pv^rsecution and death of his Pre- 
ceptor, he retired from A-thens, and travelled into the east, and al- 
so into Egypt, where he kpew ihe tenets of the Pythagorian Phi- 
losophy and Metempsychosis had been fostered and cherished. 
He is said to have followed the physics of Heraclitus, the Meta- 
physics of Pythagoras, and the morals of Socrates. His writings 
were so much admirpd, that Quintilian esteemed them divine, 
and Cicero exclaims: '4 would rather err with Plato, than be 
right with inferior men*"* 

The outlines of Plato's Philosophical system were as follow: — ■ 
That there is one G >d, eternal, immutable, and immaterial; per* 
^ Errare malo eum Piaioae^ quam cum istis vera sentire. 



3X> ItlEMOIR OF THE AUXHOK. 

feet in W'sdom and goodness; oranicient, and omnipresent* That 
this all -perfect Being formed the Universe out of a mass of eter- 
nally pre-existing matter, to which he gave form and arrange- 
ment. That there is in matter a necessary, but blind and refrac- 
tory force, which resists the will of the supreme Artificer; so 
that he cannot perfectly execute his designs: and this is the cause 
of the mixture of good and evil, which is found in the material 
world. That the soul of man was derived by emanation from 
God; aud that this emanation was not immediate, but through 
the intervention of the soul of the world, which was itself deba- 
sed by some material admixture. That the relation which the 
liuman soul, in its original constitution, bears to matter, is the 
source of moral evil. That when God formed the Universe, he 
separated from the soul of the world inferior souls, equal in num- 
ber to the stars, and assigned to each its proper celestial abode. 
That these souls were sent down to earth to be imprisoned in mor- 
tal bodies ; hence arose the depravity and misery to which hu- 
man nature is liable. That the soul is immortal: and by disenga- 
ging itself from all animal passions, and rising above sensible ob- 
jects to the contemplation of the world of intelligence, it may be 
prepared to return to its original habitation. That matter never 
suffers annihilation : but that the world will remain forever ; and 
that by the action of its animating principle, it accomplishes cer- 
tain periods, within which every thing returns to its ancient place 
and state. This periodical revolution of nature is called the Pla- 
;tonic, or great year.* 

The learned are not agreed, whence the Grecian Philoso- 
phers derived this doctrine; but they admit it came either from 
India or Egypt into Greece. Herodotus t the historian, says, the 
doctrine of the soul and its transmigrations, originated in Egypt^ 
and was taught in Greece, by names he knew, but would not men- 
tion. However, Cicero j informs us that Pherecydes, the Pre- 
ceptor of Pythagoras, first taught the doctrine in Greece; and as 
he flourished about 550 years before Christ, and Herodotus in the 
following century, this may account for the reserve of the histo- 
rian. But it seems to be a matter of no importance, whether the 
doctrine was introduced from Egypt or India. The fact seems 
to be fully established, that nearly a uniformity of opinion, on. 
this subject, subsisted in both countries, from the earliest authen- 
tic records in existence. Hence, the doctrine spread among the 
ancient Japanese, Chinese, Pei-sians, Babylonians, and all the an- 
cient nations, and generally obtained ascendency, in all the 
known world. Whether the Jews had any knowledge of this 
doctrine, before their mixing with the Babylonians and neighbour- 
ing nations, in their captivity, has afforded doubtful discussion 
among the learned, but though the doctrine might be known to them 
by ancient tradition and probably inferred from some parts of their 

^ Enfield's Hist, of Philosophy, vol. i. p. 227. fL. 2. fTnsc. L. 1. s. 16. 



MSMOIR OF THE A.UTHOK. 81 

Scriptures, yet it is no where clearly taught in any book of the 
Old Testament, acknowledged to be authentic. But after the 
Babylonian captivity, there appear manifest traces of the doc- 
trine in their history: for among other proofs which might b© ad- 
duced, the writer of the second book of the Maccabees,* says, 
Judas collected 200 drachms of silver, and sent to Jerusalem to 
make a sin offering for those who had been slain, whereby he 
made recGnciliatian for the dead, that they might he delivered from 
sin. " 

The doctrine of man's sinful or fallen state, and purification by 
moral discipline, in order to final restoration to a state of pristine 
happiness, seems, as far as the light of history eaables us to de- 
termine, to have undergone no important change, for, at least, 
two thousand years; that is, from the time of Moses to the fifth, 
century of the christian sera. And there is aa argument in its fa- 
vor which appears never to have occurred to any of my predeces- 
sors, which is this: seeing the doctrine of final salvation was the pre- 
valent sentiment of all the civilized world, when Chnstianity made its 
appearance, loould Christ and his apostles have passed so prevalent an 
error, if it be one, without rebuke! This argument must be con- 
founding to the opposers of the doctrine. 

For ages previous to the introduction of Christianity, the doc- 
trine of the restitution had constituted the subject of the most lof- 
ty Paeans ever sung by the ancient Poets; and never did the 
Prince of Latin Poets feel the aliiatus of inspiration more fully, 
than when he composed the celebrated pastoral relating to this 
subject, about the time of Christ's appearance. His language is 
so pertinent, beautiful, and elevated, that I cannot pass it unno- 
ticed. 

Sicell^es IMus^, paulo majora canamus. 

Ultima Cumcei f venit jam carmiais eetas; 

Magnus ah integro sasckirum f nascitur ordo. 

Jam redit et Virg-o, redeuat saturnia regna; 

'^'Chap. 2. 43—45. 

fin these hnes, Virgil refers to the Curaean or Sybylline verses, as aythor- 
ty for the do-^tviae. The SybylJs are described as aacieut Prophetesses, who 
lived in virginity, and predicted many thing's concerning Christ. Their pro- 
phecies were held in great veneralion, and it is said they were never kuowii 
to fail. One of them appeared at Rome, in the reign of Tatquin, 550 years 
before Christ, and oifered nine volumes of prophetic verses for sale; three of 
which were purchased, and being comniitted to the vigilance of fifteen men, 
were placed in a stone chest and secured in a vault, in the newly built Capi- 
tol at Rome. The n ime Sybyll is compounded of two Greek words, which 
signify the counsel of God. The writings of the Sybylls are mentioned by 
Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome; the last of whom, iu reply to Jovinian, 
admits the celestial origin of their divinatioas. 

JThe great order of ages, in wliich all things were to be restored, incluiled 
one complete revolution of the heavenly bodies, or the great Platonic year, 
vvheo all the celestial orbs should present the same aspect. The different ca'- 

.11 



8^ MEMOIR OF THfc AUTtlORi 

Jam nova progenies coelo demittitur alto, 
n -M ■ Ac toto surget g;ens aurea mundo. 
Talia scccla, suis dixerunt, currit#, fusis 
Concordes stabdi fatorum nurniue Parcas. 

Not recollecting any thing in English, which fully expresses 
the spirit of t!ie original, and un'AdI ling to deprive the couunon 
reader of sharing, in some degree, the pleasure arising from 
these delightful verses, I olFer the following imperfect, but Evan- 
gelical imitation: 

O sacred inspiration, tune my tong-ue 

For nobler strains, than Poets ever sung-: 

To tell the bliss, which Sybj-lls sang- of old, 

And Jewish Prophets, from the Lord foretold. 

Trie haav'nly sphares their first aspect assume, 

And pristine light and truth, the world illunse. 

Celestial Graces, now to mefti return, 

And sacred tires, on human altars burn: 

The grand Epocha, King Messiah's reign. 

On earth descends, mankind their Paradise regain,, 

A new creation, formed in righteousness. 

Their Father own, and Christ their Lord confess. 

O'er all the world, the Golden Age doth rise; 

All nature chang'd, the face of earth and skies 

Assume eternal smiles, effulgent day 

Forever shines, a .d chases night away. 

Now human woe, of sin the consequence, 

Shall cease, and bliss shall dwell with innocence. 

O haste Epocha, hear the Lord's command: 

"My oath I'll nut revoke, ray woid shall stand.'* 

The Egyptian Philosophy seems to have been brought to ita 
perfection by Ammonius Saccas, and Origen and Plotinus his pu- 
pils, at the famous Academy of Alexandria, in Egypt, in the be- 
ginning of the third century. Ammonius was a man of great 
learning and liberality, who attempted a reconciliation of the Ori- 
ental, Platonic, and Egyptian Philosophy with the Christian 
religion.* 

Ammonius supposed that true Philosophy derived its origin and 
its consistence from the eastern nations, that it was taught to the 
Egyptians, by Hermes; that it was br-.^ught from them to the 
Greeks, and preserved in its original purity by Plato, who was the 
best interpreter of Hermes and the other oriental sages. He 
maintained that all the different religions which prevailed in the 
world were, in their original integrity, conformable to this ancient 
philosophy; but it unfortunately happened, that the symbols and 
fictions under which, according to the ancient manner, the an- 

culations of this period, vary from 23,760 to 49,000 solar years. The learn- 
ed Joseph Scaliger has said many curipus things on this subject. Canon 
Isagog. 

* See Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. voj. 1. p. 138—144. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 8S 

6ients delivered their precepts and doctrines, were in process of 
time erroneously understood, both by priests and people, in a lit- 
eral sense ; that in consequence of this, the invisible beings and 
daemons whom the Supreme Deity had placed in the different 
parts of the universe as the ministers of his providence, were by 
the sug;5estion of superstition converted into gods, and worshipped 
with a multiplicity of vain ceremonies. He therefore insisted 
that all the religions of all nations should he restored to their 
prinitive standard ; viz. The ancient philosophy of the east ; and 
he asserted that his project was agreeable to the intentions of Je- 
sus Christ, whom he acknowledged to be a most excellent man, 
the friend of God ; and affirmed that his sole view in descending 
on earth, was to set bounds to the reigning superstition, to remove 
the errors which had crept into the religion of all nations, but not 
to abolish the ancient tbeology from which they are derived. 

Taking these principles for granted, Ammonius associated the 
sentiments of the Egyptians with the doctrines of Plato | and to 
finish this conciliatory scheme, he so interpreted Ihe doctrines of 
the other philosophical and religions sects, by art, invention, and 
alleg')ry, that they seemed to bear some semblance to the Egyp- 
tian and Ptatonic systems. * 

As the doctriie of A*Timonius, relative to the soul and man's 
final destiny, was adopted by Origen and others of the ancient 
fathers, an 1 explained on the principles ©f Christianity with which 
it had become amalgamate?, a concise view of the doc^trine, taught 
by Origen on this subjeet, is hore inserted, as a farther develope- 
ment of the ancient Philosophy. 

That there is a pre existent state of human souls, for the na- 
ture of the soul is such as to make her capable of existing eternal- 
ly, backward as well as forward, because her spiritual essence, as 
sufh, makes it impossible that she should, either through age or 
violence, be dissolved ; so that nothing is v/anting to her existence 
but the good pleasure from whom all things proceed. And if, ac- 
cording to the Platonic scheme, we assign the production of all 
things to the exuberant fullness of life in the Deity, which, through 
the blessed necessity of his communicative nature, empties itself 
into ail possibilities of being, as into so many capable receptacles, 
W2 must suppose her existence in a sense necessary, and in a de- 
gree co-eternal with God. 

That souls were condemned to animate mortal bodies, in order 
to expiate faults they had committed in a pre-existent state ; for 
we may be assured, from the infinite goodness of their Creator, 
that they were at first joined to the purest matter, and placed in 
those regions of the universe which were most suitable to the pu- 
rity of essence they then possessed. F~»r that the souls of men 
are an order of essentially incorporate spirits, their deep immer- 
sion into terrestrial matter, the modification of all their operations 
'"^ See Buck's Theo. Diet. p. 408. 



84 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

by it, and the heavenly body promised in the Gospel, as the high- 
est perfection of our renewed nature, clearly evince. Therefore 
if our souls existed before they appeared inhabitants of the earth, 
they wei^ placed in a purer element, and enjoyed far greater de- 
grees of happiness. And certainly he, wnose overflowing good- 
ness brought them into existence, would not deprive them of their 
felicity, till by their mutability they rendered themselves less pure 
in the whole extent of their powers, and became disposed for the 
susception of such S degree of corporeal life as was exactly an- 
swerable to their present disposition of spirit. Hence it was ne- 
cessary that they should become terrestrial men. 

That at the resurrection of the dead we shall be clothed with 
etherial bodies. For the elements of our terrestrial compositions 
are such as almost fatally entangle us in vice, passion, and misery. 
The purer the vehicle the soul is united with, the more perfect is 
her life and operations. Besides, the Supreme Goodness who 
made all things, assures us he made all things best at first, and 
therefore his recovery of us to our lost happiness (which is the de^ 
sign of the Gospel) must restore us to our better bodies and hap- 
pier liabitations, which is evident from 1 Cor. xv. 49, 2 Cor. v. 1. 
and other texts of Scripture. 

That, after long periods of time, the damned shall be released 
from tlieir torments, and restored to a new state of probation. 
For the Deity has such reserves in his gracious providence, as will 
vindicate his sovereign goodness and wisdom from all disparage- 
ment. Expiatory pains are a part of his adorable plan ; for this 
sharper kind of favour has a righteous place in such creatures as 
are by nature mutable. Though sin has extinguished or silenced 
the diviBe, Wfe, yet it has not destroyed the faculties of reason and 
understanding, consideration and memgry, which will serve the 
life which is most powerful. If, therefore, the vigorous attraction 
of the sensual mature be abated by a ceaseless pam, these powers 
tn^y resunie the seeds of a better life and nature. As in the ma- 
terial system there is a gravitation of the less bodies towards the 
greater, there must of necessity be something analogous to this in 
the intellectual system ; and since the spirits created by God are 
emanations and streams from his own abyss of being, and as 
self existent power must i^eeds subject all beings to itself, the De- 
ity could not but impress upon his intimate natures and substan- 
ces a centrd tendency towards himself; an essential principle of 
reunion to their great original. * 

In the third century, all other sects were gradually eclipsed 
by the school of Ammonius, whose origin and doctrines have been 
considered above. This victorious sect, which was formed in 
Egypt, issued forth from thence with such a rapid progress, that, 
in a short time, it extended itself almost throughout the Roman 

* See Buck's Theo. Diet. p. 421. j See Berrow's Illustration and defence 
of the opinions Oi Qrigenj4 to. 



MEMOIR OF THE AtJTHOli. 85 

empire, and drew into its vortex the greatest part of those who 
applied themselves, through inclination, to the study of philos- 
ophy. This amazing progress was due to Plotinus, the most emi- 
nent disciple of Ammonius, a man of a most subtile invention, 
and endowed bj nature with a genius capable of the most profound 
researches, and equal to the investigation of the most abstruse 
and difficult subjects. This penetrating and sublime Philosopher 
taught publicly first in Persia, and afterwards at Rome, and in 
Campania; in all which places the youth flocked in crowds to 
receive his instruction. He comprehended the precepts of his 
philosophy in several books, the most of which are yet extant. 

The number of disciples that were formed in the scliool of Plo- 
tinus is almost beyond credibility. The most famous of them 
was Porphyry, who spread abroad through Sicily and many other 
countries the doctrine of his master, revised with great accuracy, 
adorned with the graces of a flowisg and elegant style, and en- 
riched with new inventions and curious improvements. From 
the time of Ammonius until the sixth century, this was almost the 
only system of philosophy that was publicly taught at Alexandria. 
A certain philosopher, whose name was Plutarch, having learned 
it there, brought it into Greece, and renewed, at Athens, the 
celebrated academy^ from whence issued a set of illustrious phi- 
losophers.* 

In the fifth century, the credit of the Platonic philosophy, and 
the preference that was given to itj as more excellent in itself, 
and less repugnant to the genius of the gospel than other systems, 
did not prevent the doctrine of Aristotle from coming to light af- 
ter a long struggle, and forcing its way into the Christian church. 
The Platonists themselves interpreted, in the?r schools, some of 
the writings of Aristotle, particularly his Dialects, and recom- 
mended that work to such of the youth as had a taste for logical 
discussions, and were fond of disputing. In this the Christian 
doctors imitated the manner of the heathen schools, and this" was 
the first step to that universal dominien, which the Stagirite after- 
wards obtained in the republic of letters. A second and a yet 
larger stride, which the Aristotelian philosophy made towards 
this universal empire, was during the controversies which Origen 
had occasioned*., and the Aiian, Eutychian, Nestorian, and Pela- 
gian dissentions. Origen, as is well known, was zealously at- 
tached to the Platonic system. When therefore he was publicly 
condemned, many to avoid the imputation of his errors, and to 
prevent their being counted among the number of his followers, 
adopted openly the philosophy of Aristotle, which was entirely 
different from that of Origen. The Nestorian, Arian, and Euty- 
chian controversies were managed, or rather drawn out, on both 
sides, by a perpetual recourse to subtle distinctions, and captious 
sophisms. And no philosophy was so proper to furnish such wea- 
•■'' See Mosheim, p. 205. 



^ MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

pons as tijat of Aiistotlej for that of Plato was far from being 
adapted to form the minds to the p denuc arts. Beside, the Pel- 
agian doctrine bore a striking resemblance to the Platonic opin- 
ir.iih concerning Gt/d and the human soul, and this was an addi- 
tional reason which engaged many to desert the Platonists, and 
to csshume, at least, the nante of Peripatetics.* 

The vices of the clergy were now carried to the ino?t enormous 
lengths; and all the writers of this centuiy, whose probity and 
"virtue render them worthy of credii, are unanimous in their ac- 
counts of the luxury, arrogance, avarice, and voluptuousness of 
the sacerdotal orders, t 

The^e approbrious stains, in the characters of the clergy, would 
never have been endured, had not the greatest part of mankind 
been sunk in superstition and ignorance, and all in general form- 
ed their ideas of the rights and liberties of Christian ministers, 
fr< m the model exhibited by the f=aceidot^l orders among the He- 
brews, the Greeks, and R^imans, during the law of Moses, and 
tht darkness of Paganisn<.:|: 

As there were none in these times to hinder the Christians from 
retaining the opinions of their pagan ancestors concerning depar- 
ted souls, heroes, demons, temples, and such like matters, and 
even transferring them into their religious services; and as, in- 
stead of entirely abolishing the rites and institutions of ancient 
tie-es, these institutions were still observed with only some slight 
alterations; all this swelled of necessity the torrent of supersti- 
tion, and deformed the beauty (jf the Christian religion and wor- 
ship with those corrupt remains of paganism, which still subsist 
in the Christian church, and the famous pagan doctrine, concerning 
i.he purification of departed spvls. was riew modelled and proved an 
inexhaustible source of riches to the clergy through the succeed- 
ing ages, and still enriches the Romish church with its nutritious 
.strean^s. || 

In the sixth century, a vast multitude of Jews were added 
to the church, through the means of the Emperor Justinian, the 
zeal ef the Gallic and Spanish Monarchs, and the efforts of Greg- 
ory the Great. The narn-w views of this nation joined to Aus- 
tin's rigid views of particular election, had a darkening effect on 
the Christian religion ; snd mightily tended to obliterate the re- 
mains of the Ancient Philisophy. Hence Partiality, joired to 
Gothic ignorance, paved the way for the Orthodox and Mahom- 
etan hell, and blackened the fair heavens of religion anc' literature. 

"Not to speak of the illiberal ignorance which several prehites af- 
fected, and which they injudiciously eonfctunded with Christian 
simplicity; even those who applied themselves to the study and 
pn'].{>gaTion of ihe sciences, were for the most part extremely 
unskiiful and illiterate; and the branches of learning taught in 
the schools, wf^re inconsiderable both as to their quality and thtlr 

*£ee Mushum^s Eccl. Hist, p 345. f p. 351. | p. 35£. |jp. 358. 



jMemoir of the authok. »/ 

number. Greek literature v,'as alraost every where neglected; 
and those who by profession had devoted themselves to the cul- 
ture of Latin erudition, spent their time and labor in grammat- 
ical subtiities and quibbles, as the pedantic examples ot isodorus 
and Cassiodorus abundantly show. Eloquence was degraded into 
a rhetorical bombast, a noisy kind of declamation, which was 
composed of motley and frigid allegories and barbarous terms, as 
may even appear from several parts of the writings of those su- 
perior geniuses who surpassed their cotemporanes in precision 
and elegance, such as Boethius, Cassiodorus, Ennodius, and rth- 
ers. As to the other liberal arts, they shared the common calam- 
ity; and as they were now cultivated, had nothing very liberal or 
elegant in their appearance, consisting entirely in a few dry rules; 
whieh, instead of a complete and finished system, produced only 
a ghastly and lifeless skeleton. 

Philosophy fared still worse than literature; for it was entirely 
banished fron> all the sennnaries which were under the inspection 
and government of the ecclesiastical order. The greatest part of 
these zealots looked upon the study of philosophy not only as use- 
less, but even pernicious to those who had dedicated themselves 
to the service of religion. 

In the beginning of this century, the Platonics maintained as yet 
their credit, and their philoso})hy was in vogue. The Alexandri- 
an and Athenian schools flourished under the direction of Demas- 
cius, Isidorus, Simplicius, Eularaius, He'naas, Priscianus, and 
others, who were placed on the highest summit of literary glory* 
But when the Emperor Justinian, by a particular edict, prohibited 
the teaching of philosophy at Athens, which edict, no doubt, was 
levelled at the modern Platonism already mentioned, and when his 
resentment began to flame out against those who refused to aban- 
don the pagan worship, then all these celebrated philosophers took 
refuge among the Persians, who were at that time the enemies of 
Rome. They indeed returned from their voluntary exile, when 
the peace was concluded between the Persians and 'Romans, a. d. 
5S3; but they could never .recover their former credit, and they 
gradually disappeared in the public schools and seminaries (k 
learning, which ceased at length to be under their direction. 
Thus expired that famous sect, which was distinguished by the ti- 
tle of the modern or later Platonic. It was succeeded by the 
Aristotelian philosophy, which arose imperceptibly out of its ob- 
scurity. * 

Some eminent writers believe the Ancient Philosophy was deri- 
ved from the Patriarchs and Jewish nation, and allege many 
specious arguments ; but it seems more rational to carry back its 
origin to the traditions of the Antideluvian world. For the sake 
of impartiality on this subject, we give place to the following 
brief statement, 

* See Mosheim's Eccl. Hist. p. 406— a. 



88 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

Clemens Alexandrinus, Justin Martjr, Ausjustine, and moat of 
the Christian fathers, believed the Heathens derived their proper 
sentiments from the oracles of Gad, and Celsus, the Heathen 
philosopher, acknowledges the similarity of Plato to Moses and 
the prophets. Theophilus Gale, in his Court of the Gentiles, has 
•with great labor, shown the derivation of the sensible notions of 
the Heathen from the oraeles of God. Nothing is more plain, 
than that the nations which have had no access to revelation are 
almost similar to brutes in ignorance and barbarity. Let the 
south of Africa, the east of Tartary, and various parts of Amer- 
ica, bear witness. It is easy to trace their access to revelation, 
wherever any sensible philosophy, especially respecting morals 
and worship, was found. Might not a deal of traditional knov/1- 
edge be derived from Noah? Who kn&ws how little real wisdom 
the Egyptians might have, except what they owed to Joseph, Mo- 
ses, Solomon, or other Hebrews, they were conversant with, and 
highly regarded.^ What hindered the Chaldeans to learn not a 
Ijittle from Abraham, their countryman; or from Jewish captives, 
carried thither by the Assyrians or Nebuchadnezzar; or from 
their countrymen, the most ancient Samaritans? What know 
we, but any thing sensible in th^ ancient Persian religion, is 
owing to Zoroaster, who had access to learn it from the Jews, if 
he was not, as some think, a renegade one himself! It is certain, 
that neither the ancient Chinese philosophy of Confucius, nor 
their modern, had half the sensibieness that some pretend; but 
though it had, how easy to derive it from revelation? If Noah 
went thither, and settled their constitutions, they must have been 
originally good. Probably thousands of Jews removed eastward, 
when Oguz-kan the Tartar made his irruption into Western Asia; 
and about the same time, founded a kingdom on the northwest of 
China; and from their acute apprehensions of certain doctrines, 
and other things, we cannot but think that some such thing hap- 
pened. I find no evidence of any sensible philosophy in the East 
Indies, till after the time in which it is said Nebuchadnezzar 
transported thither a colony of Jews: nay, nor till after they had 
access to converse with Jews in the empire of Darius, the hus- 
band of Esther; and to whom Mordecai, a Jew, was for a while 
chief Minister of state; and till after almost all the east sounded 
\\\i\\ the wisdom of Daniel the Jew. To turn cur eyes towards 
Europe, where was the learning of Greece, before Cadmus, a fu- 
gitive from the country of Israel carried letters thither? How 
probable, that Orpheus the reformer of their religion, or his fa- 
ther, was a Phenician, and his mother, Calliope, perliaps a Jewish 
minstrel, carried northward by the conquering Shi^hak king of 
Esypt? W^hat know I. but the Colchiai)s on the east of the Eux- 
iwe sea, with whom the Greeks had the earliest intercourse, and 
who used circumcision, and had a language not a little similar to 
the Hebrew, were a colony of Jews and Egyptians, Teft there by 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 89 

Shishak, as he hasted home to check his rebellious brother? Who 
has not heard of the early intercourse between Egypt and 
Greece? Who knows not, that the Phenicians, who in a manner 
lived among the Hebrews, or at their side by theii extensive sea- 
trade and numerous colonics, might propogate hints borrowed 
from revelation, far and wide, even to the Celtss of Britain? Who 
may not observe in the Elruscan incumonies of Italy, not a little 
resemblance to the early order of the Hebrew uibes? Were not 
Pherecydes the Syrian, and Thalesthe Milesian, tlie most ancient 
philosophers of the Greeks? and wer<i they not boi^n, especially 
the first at no great distance from Israel? Did not Pythagoras, 
Solon, Plato, and other renowned phil-sophers, travel into Egypt 
and Chaldea, to collect wisdom? and cauldthey do so without vis- 
iting the Jewish valley of vision, which lay in their vvay, from the 
one to the other? Did not the Romans derive their philosophy 
from the Greeks? and had they not plenty of access to the «ra- 
cles of God in the Grecian language? Since it is so extremely 
probable that almost every thing sensible in the Pagan learning 
derives its original from revelation, how superlatively unmanly 
must it be for our modern infidels, to boast of their own or the 
Heathen science, in opposition to the gospel of Christ?* 

I have said in my first lecture on the Trinity, that from the fifth 
to the fifteenth century, the powers of Antichrist enjoyed their 
Millennium; and this may certainly be as well applied to the fate 
of the doctrine of the Divine benevolence, as that of the Divine 
Unityk Here the intelligent reader will perceive the propriety 
of holding the Unity, as clear as the benevolence of God : for the 
.atter doctrine was never lost among Christians, till the Di- 
vine Unity was denied, and polytheism established as the basis 
of the religion of Jesus. Then the notions of Gods passionate 
unjust, whose attributes were rao:e, revenge or lust, opened a gulf 
in which was buried the fair fabric of heaven-born religion, which 
represented God a Universal Father, and all mankind his children, 
by eternal and ind'ssoluble ties. Indeed the Orthodox had been 
so habituated to curse their follow christians, during the fourth 
and fifth centuries, that to denounce the most horrid execrations 
on those, who objected to the base innovations of the times, was 
as familliar to the mouth of an Ecclesiastic, as to invoke benedic- 
tions on his partisans. In-sucii a state of affliirs we cannot be 
surprised, that a.n eternal heU should originate in the frantic ima- 
ginations of the degenerate Christians. If we are asked, there- 
fore, when the doctrine of endless misery appeared in the world, 
we answer. It was cradled in the dark night of superstitious 
monstrosity and delusion, when the Barbarians had overrun the 
seat of Enipire, of Christianity, and of science and a flood of pol- 
ytheism, wickedness, and barbarity, had been poured out on the 
apostate church of Christ. Every honest Historian must admit, 
*B!-o\vn'.^ Diet, of ihe Bihie, Article, Philosophy. 
12 ■' 



00 MSMOIH OF THE AUTHOR. 

that the violence of those professing christians, \vho introducM' 
polytheism, in the fourth, and endless misery in the fifth century, 
exceeded, in ruthless ferocity, any thing recorded in the annals 
of the Pagan world! Let then the thoughts and deeds of the 
dark ages pass unnoticed, in the christian history, for scarcely 
any act or production of the Christian church from the fifth to the 
fifteentlv century is worthy the attention of the christian or scholar. 

We have been rather prolix, in our account of the doctrine of 
the Restoration 5 but our object has been to show the Universality 
of the doctrine, with a view to rebut an ignorant pretence made 
by its opposers, namely; That it is a novel doctrine, never known 
till of late. It ever has been the most popular doctrine in the 
world, from its foundation till the present time; and it is utterly 
beyond the power of the Historian, to point out any period in the 
annals of civilized nations, in which this doctrine has not been 
paramount to all other views of a future state. We admit, that 
from the overthrow of the Platonic Philosophy, in the sixth century, 
till after the revival of literature, in the sixteenth, the doctrine 
was at a low ebb in Europe — -but who cannot see it disfigured in 
the Catholic Purgatory; so that it has ever been prevalent. 

At the reformation, some of the Protestants, carried beyond 
the baun<ls of mo leration in overheated zeal against the Roman 
Church, labored v/ith all their might to destroy the Catholic Pur- 
gatory, though the whole legion of Protestant writers, were never 
able to produce one solid argument against it, either from Scrip- 
ture or Philosophy. But as soon as sectarian enthusiasm began 
to subside, the Protestants began to look again towards this orna- 
ment of every theological system in the world; and as soon as 
tolerant views began to dawn on the reformed church, some of her 
most eminent sons stood forth as Champions, in the cause of hu- 
man emancipation. 

Since that time, the doctrine of the ^^TiaZ Restoration, has had 
a train of able and distinguished advocates, who have repulsed 
with success the progress of the base upstart, endless misery. The 
most distinguished writers in favor of Restoration, are Hartley, 
Stonehouse, Smith, Estlin, Winchester and Chauncey: all of 
whom are authors of excellent talents and good education. 

A few of the arguments made use of, in defence of this system, 
are as follow: Christ died not for a select number of men only.f 
but for mankind unixxrsalhj^ and without exception or limitation. 

For the sacred writers are singularly emphatical in expressing 
this truth. They speak not only of Christ's '•dying for i«s,' for 
our sins ^^ for sinners.,'^ for the nngodly^^ for the unjust;^ but affirm^ 
in yet more extensive terms, that, that ''he died for the world,^ for 
Hhe whole world.'' * 

If Christ died for all, it is far more reasonable to believe, that 

=^ See 1 Thess. V. 10 1 Cor. xv. 3. Rom. v. 6. 8. 1. Pet. iii- IB, John 
i. 29 ; iii. IG, 17. 1 John ii. 2, Heb. ii. 9 ; aad a variety of other passages. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 9l 

the whole human kind, in consequence of his death, will finally 
be saved, than that the greatest part of them should perish. More 
honour is hereby Veflected on God; greater virtue is attributed to 
the blood of Christ shed on the cross; and instead of dying in 
vain, as to any real g )od, which will finally be the event, with 
respect to the greatest part of mankind, he will be made to die to 
the best and noblest purpose, even the eternal happiness of a whole 
world of intelligent and moral beings. 

It is the parpD^e of. Gr)l, according to his good pleasure, that 
n^aakind. unlver'ialhj, in consequence of the death of his Son Je- 
sus Ciirist, shall certainly dni tiaally be saved. Tie texts, which 
ascertain this, are those, which follow : First, Rom. v. 12, to the 
end. Toere Adam is considered as the source of damage toman- 
kind universally; and Christ, on the other hand, as a like source 
of advantage to the same mankind; but with this observable dif- 
ference, that the advantage on the side of Christ exceeds, over- 
fl )ws, abounds, beyond the damage on the side of Adam; and tiiis 
to all mankind. The 15th l6th and 17th verses, are absolutely 
unintelligible upon any other interpretation, 

Anothfir text, to the purpose of our present argument, we meet 
with in R)m. viii. from the 19th to the 24th verse. On the one 
hand, it is affirmed of the creature, that is, of mankind in gener- 
al, that they are subjected to vanity, that is, the imperfections 
and infelicities of a vain, mortal life, here on earth. 0:i the oth- 
er hand, it is positively affirmed of the creature, or mankind in 
general, that they were n )t saojected to this vanity, finally and 
forever, but in consequence of hope; not only that they should be 
delivered from this subjection but instated in immortal glory. 

Ano ther text to this purpose occurs in CoL i. 19, 20. For it 
pleased, the Father^ that in him should all fulness dwell; '''and (having 
made peace through the blood of his cross) by him to reconcile all things 
unto himself. And in this epistle, * the apostle (speaking of Christ) 
says, In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodihj; that is 
he is the glorious person, in whom Grod has really lodged", and 
through whom he will actually coinmunicate all the fullness, 
wherewith he intends this lapsed world shall be filled in order to 
its-restoration. And Christ, having this fulness lodged in him, 
ascended up far above all heavens, thit he might fdl all things, t And 
as the filling of all things in this lapsed world, that they might b a 
restored, was the final cause of the ascension of Christ up to heav- 
en, all things must accordingly be filled in fact by him, =ooner or 
later; the apostles therefore observes in the following verses not 
only that he has imparted gifts in prosecution of the end of his 
exaltation, but that in order to the full accoinplishment ofit, he 
would go on to impart them, until we all come to the unity oj t^e 
faith, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulntss 
of Christ. And it is declared,!: that all things in heaven and 
* Chapter ii. verse 9. f Ephes. iv. 10. \ Ephcs. i. 9, I 0, 



9S MEMOIR. OF THE AUTHOR. 

earth shall be reduced from the state they were in, by means of 
the lapse, into a well subjected and subordinate whole by Christ. 
Another proof of the present proposition we find in 1 Tim. ii. 4. 
If God is able in consistency with men's make, as moral and in- 
telligent agents, to effect their salvation, his desiring that they 
should be saved, and his eventually saving them, are convertable 
terms. 

As a mean in order to men's being made meet for salvation, 
God will sooner or later, in this state or another, reduce them all 
under a willing and obedient subjection to his moral government. 

The texts which confirm this proposition are numerous. The 
apostle says. * For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, 
that he might destroy the works of the devil. If all things, with- 
out any limitation or exception, shall be brought under subjection 
to Christ, then the time must come, sooner or later, ^n this state 
or some other, when there shall be no rebels among the sons of 
Adam, no enemies against the moral government of God: for 
there is no way of reducing rebels, so as to destroy their charac- 
ter as such, but by making them willing and obedient subjects. 
That this scripture is thus to be understood is evident by a parallel 
passage, t The next poition of scripture, in proof of the present 
proposition, we meet with in 1 Cor. chap, xv, from the 24th to the 
28th verse. Though the apostle, in this paragraph, turns our 
view to the end of the mediatory scheme, it is affirmed, that .uni- 
versal subjection to Christ shall first be effected, in a variety of 
as strong and esten^ive terms, as could Weil have been used: as, 
by ^putting dmcn all rwle., and all authority and power ;'^ by ^putting 
allettemies under hisfeety^ <S>x. It is. worthy of special notice, that, 
before Christ's delivery of the mediatorial kingdom to the Father, 
the last enemy must be destroyed, which is death. 

The two periods, when the mediatory kingdom is in the hands 
of Jesus Christ, and when God, as king, will be immediately all 
in all, are certainly quite distinct from each other: and the reign 
of Christ, in his mediatorial kingdom, may be divided into two 
general periods. The one takes in this present state of existence, 
in which Christ reigns at the head of God's kingdom of grace. 
During this period a number of the sons of Adam will be fitted for 
a glorious immortality in the uext state. The other period of 
Christ's reign is that which intervenes between the general resur- 
rection and the time when God shall be all in all. This state may 
contain a duration of so long countinuance, as to answer to the 
scripture phrase, for ever and ever, or as it might more properly 
be rendered for ages of ages. During the whole of this state the 
righteous shall be happy, and the wicked miserable, till they are 
Induced, avS willing servant?, to Christ, then the grand period shall 
commence, when God shall be all in all. ± 

* 1 John 3. 8. Psa. viii. 5, 6, as explained and arg-ued from Heb. ii. 6. 
f Pilip. ii. 9—1 i tchauacey^s Salv. of all men, p. 12, 20, 81 , 1 17, 123. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 93 

Universalian Redemptioxists, believe an expiatory sacnfice 
and satisfaction was made bj Jesus» in the character of God- 
man or God incarnate, as the head and representative of the 
whole humau race; and that, on this account, all men are accept- 
ed as righteous in the sight of God, and consequently must be 
saved from wrath to come. This view of Universalism was first 
promulgated in England, by James Relly, and introduced into 
America by Mr. Murray, about the time of , the commencement of 
the American revolution. 

Mr. Relly believed that Christ as a Mediator was so united to 
mankind, that his actions were theirs, his obedience and suffer- 
ings theirs; and, consequently, that he has as fully restored the 
whole human race to the divine faver, as if ail had obeyed and 
suffered in their own persons : and upon this persuasion he preach- 
ed a finished salvation, called by the apostle Jude, '*The common 
salvation." His followers believe that the divine law has now no 
demands upon them, nor condemning power over them. Their 
salvation solely depends upon their union with Christ, which God 
constituted and established before the world began; and by virtue 
of this union they will all be admitted to heaven at the last day. 
They allege that the union of Christ and his church is a necessa- 
ry consideration for the right explanation of certain passages 
of Scripture.* 

The Scriptures affirm, that by the offence of one^ judgment came 
upon all men unto condemnation, f It is evident hence, that in Ad- 
am's offence all have offended; which supposes snoh a union be- 
tween Adam and his offspring, that his sin was their sin, and his 
ruin their ruin: and if this be granted, why should it be thought a 
thing incredible, that the like union, subsisting between Jesus 
■and his seed, should render his condition theirs? especially as 
the apostle has thus stated the matter, ij: 

To prove that the atonement was satisfactory for the whole hu- 
man race, they allege that it is said, ''Christ died for all;" that 
"he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for 
the sins of the whole world," This denomination admits of no 
punishment for sin but what Christ suffered: but speak of a pun- 
ishment, which is consequent upon sin, as darkness, distress, and 
misery, which they ass,ert are ever attendant upon transgression. 
But, as to know the true God and Jesus Christ is life eternal, and as 
all shaU know him from the least to the greatest, that knowedge, or 
belief, will consequently dispel or save from all the darkness^dis- 
tress and fear, which is attendant upon guilt and unbelief, and 
being perfectly holy, we shall consequently be perfectly and 
eternally happy. 

They are not observers of ordinances, such as water-baptism 

*Eph. V. 30. 1 Cor. xii. 26 ; xii. 12. vSee also Col. i. 18. Eph. i. 22, 23. 
Col. ii. 10. Rom. xii. 5. Heb. ii. 11. John xvii. 22, 24. fRom, v. 8: 
lii. 25. X Rom v. 19. 



94 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

and the sacrament: professing to believe only in one baptism, 
which they call an immersion of the mind or conscience into truth 
by the teaching of the spirit of God; and by the same spirit they 
are enabled to feed on Christ as the bread of life, professing that 
in and with Jesus they possess all things. They inculcate and 
maintain gi>od works for necessary purposes; but contend that the 
principal and only works whijh ought to be attended to, is the do- 
ing real good without religious ostentation^ that to relieve the 
miseries and distresses. of mankind according to our ability, is 
doing more real good than the superstitious observance of reli- 
gious ceremonies. In general they appear to believe that there 
will be a resurrection to life, and a resurrection to condemna- 
tion; that believers only will be among the former, who as first 
fruits, and kings and priests, will have part in the first resurrec- 
tion, and shall reign with Christ in his kingdom of the millennium; 
that unbelievers who are after raised, must wait the manifestation 
of the Saviour of the world, under that condemnation oi con- 
science which a mind in darkness and u'rath must irecessarily 
feel; that believers, called kings and priests, will be made the me- 
dium of comoiunicatlon to their condemned brethren; and like 
Joseph to his brethrer, though he spoke roughly to them, in reali- 
ty overflowed with aflfection and tenderness; that ultimately eve- 
ry knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that in the Lord they 
have righteousness and strength; and thus every enemy shall be 
subdued to the kingdom and glory of the Great Mediator.* 

The late Dr. Joseph Huntington, in a posthumous w^ork, enti- 
tled, ''Calvinism Improved ; or. The G >spel Illustrated as a Sys- 
tem of Real Grace, issuing in the Salvation of all Men," has of- 
fered a new modification of Relly's scheme. The author of this 
performance suppos^^.s the atonement to be '"a direct, true, and 
proper set ing all our guilt to the account of Christ, as our fed- 
eral head an'if sponsor; and alike placing his obedience to death 
to our account." **The Son of man," says he, *'is God's only 
object, as an elect head, in regurd to our eternal salvation, and 
all human nature is one entire, elect object, in union with Christ, 
as a body with a head." Agreeable to this idea, Dr. Huntington 
maintains, that our sins are transferred to Christ, and his right- 
eousness to us, that he was a true and proper substitute for all man- 
kind, and has procuied unconditional^, eternal salvation^ for every in- 
dii'idual; that the gospel is all mere neivs, c-ood neivs, and hath no 
threatenings in it: that law and gospel are diametrically opposite; 
that the^e two dispensations of i&od oppose each other from be- 
ginning to end. **The moral law," says he, '"every where speaks 
to m; n in his own personal character, the Gospel in that of the 
Messiah. The law informs us what man in justice deserves, the 
Gospel what the Son of God deserves." Accordingly Dr. Hun- 
tington understands all the threatenings in the word of God as 
^. See Buck article Relieyanist. 



m:emoir of the author. 95 

the pure voice of law and justice. Thus he explaias Mait. xxv. 
46, '^Mankind in this passage are considered in two characters: 
in their own personally; and then the voice of the righteous law 
is, These shall go away into everlasting pumshment; 6?i^ [in Christ] 
the righteous [by union of faith] shall enter into life eternal. 1 he 
wicked character shall remain an everlasting object of shame, con- 
tempt and condemnation, in the view of God and holy intelligen- 
cies; the righteous character an eternal object of approbation, wor- 
thy of life eternal."* 

UiViTARiAN UxivERSALisTs. — I USB the term Unitarian, as im- 
plying a believer in one God and one Mediator, as described in 
the writings of Dr. Priestley and Mr. Bel sham, whose views are 
delineated in my Lectures, t Hence, Unitarian Universalisiii is 
a belief in full and eternal salvation, by the free, sovereign, and 
Unpurchased benevolence of the Deity, excluding all notions of 
merit, arising either from works of righteousness or vicarious suf- 
ferings. Salvation, in this sense, is that pure, blessed state of 
immortality, which God freely bestows, at the resurrection, on all 
mankind, through Christ our Lord. 

According to this scheme Universalists believe God to be the 
same just, kind, merciful, and piopitious Being, from eternity 
unto eternity, without the least ''variableness or shadow of turn- 
ing." That he created only to bless and make happy in the en- 
joyment of himself, in a greater or less degree, according to the 
capacity of his creatures. That he never stood ifi need of any 
to suffer in order to appease his wrath, or to open a way whereby 
it coukl be consistent for liim to be gracious; as he never was un- 
gracious, neither was it ever inconsistent for him to be merciful. 
That the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, embracing his life, mira- 
cles, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension into glory, was 
a commendation of divine love; J and therefore could not have 
been designed xo procure that of which it was a commendation; i. e, 
the love of God to sinners. That natural death, although it may 
be, and often is, occasioned by sin, yet it is not th^ effect of sin, 
nor is it a penalty due to transgression; but is the natutral effect 
of a mortal constitution, in which man stood, even before he sin- 
ned. That the death which is the * "wages of sin," is moral, in 
v/hich state all sinners are now supposed to be, u!itil they are 
quickened and made alive by the Gospel, i. e. by the life-giving- 
power of Divine truth; hence the Gospel was designed to save 
sinners from a state which they are now in; (i. e. from their sins;) 
and not from any punishment due to their sins, and much tiess, 
from divine jutticeor any supposed wrath in God. That the 
creature man, being thus made subject to vanity, shall be deliver- 
ed from the bondage of corrvption into the glorious liberty of the chil- 
dren of God: and that in the resurrection, they are the children of 
* Her Adam's Diet, article Universalist. f See Lectures 3, 4, 5, 10, 11^ 
12, and 13, of Systemmatical Theolog:y, | Eom. 5. 8. 



9^ MEMOIR OF THE AUTKCR. 

God^ being children of the resurrection. And that, as God will liave 
all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth,; 
as he sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world; so they believe 
in the salvation of all men, * 

Having exhibited this concise, and 1 hope, complete view, of the 
whole theory of Uriiversalism in all its different branches and 
progress; and having informed the reader, that I advanced from 
the doctrine of Restoration to Unitarian Universalism, at Phila- 
delphia, about the beginning of the year 182S; nothing remains 
but to assign nr.y reasons for rejecting the yirs? atid secw^J, and 
adopting the third scheme of Universalism.. This I shall do as 
briefly as possible, and then conclude my Memoir, by a general 
view of the Christian Doctrine, as taught in the sacred book of the 
New Testament; and which as a Unitarian Universalist, I cor- 
dially believe. 

The end contemplated, in the doctrine of restoration, being the 
perfect purity and happiness of all intelligent beings is that to 
which all unperverted reason, philosophy^ and revelation direct 
the human mind; but the means, by which the end is attained, 
seems not to be understood hy the advocates of the doctrine. 
The restitution has generally been connected with the Metempsv- 
ehosis, or transmigration of souls, and seems not to have beeti 
separated from that doctrine for the space of SCOO years; that is, 
from the days of Abraham till the fifth century; and the dis- 
tinction appears to have been effected only among Christians, es- 
pecially since the reformation. But instead of improving the 
doctrine it has been unnecessarily embarrassed, by modern ap- 
pendages. Both transmigration and restoration are founded on 
facts, which are allegorically represented, according to the eastern 
custom. They seem to be a vitiated representation of that glori- 
ous doctrine, first taught to mankind, by the great Parent of the 
Universe; and more fully illustrated and confirmed, by Christ 
and his apostles, where they describe the first state of man as 
earthly and sensual, and the second as heavenly and spiritual. 

Man being made subject to vanity, while in the earthly body, 
must groan being burdened: but when the soul is delivered from 
the bondage of corruption, freed from this vile body, and clo- 
thed with a celestial and spiritual, it will then attain' purity and 
happiness. To a scholar of sufficient classical discernment, this 
view of the subject will appear through the veil of metaphor and 
allegory, under which the eastern nations were accustomed to de- 
liver instructions. One of the Latin Poets must have had some 
idea of the true doctrine, when he said, 

— Dicique beatus ante obitum nemo. Ovid, i 

*Eph. i o, an,];j. j^4^ ^^ -Rom. viii. 20. 1 Tim. ii. 4. Col. 1.20. 
t "JNoman can be happy before deatt^." 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOdl. 97 

Bellamy thinks *Hhe Brahmans do not teach the transmigration 
of the soul, from one material body to another material body in 
this world; a doctrine they have been charged with by many wri- 
ters. But such writers forget that the apostle informs us, there 
are two bodies, viz: Hhere is a natural body, and there is a 
spiritual body, howbeit, that was not first, which is spiritual, but 
that which is natural.' They also should have recollected, that 
it is said, ^flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,' 
and that the apostle says, 'absent from the body, present with 
the Lord;' consequently, that the future bodies^ mentioned in the 
ancient book of Menu, referred to the self-same body alluded to 
by the apostle, and not to material bodies, of different shapes in 
this world. I believe i\\Q true understanding of an enlightened 
Brahman, on this subject to be consistent with the sacred Scrip- 
tures, and that it was originally taken from them, where the pro- 
phet says, clean and unclean beasts were figured before him on 
the wall in the chamber of imagery, to signify to him the good 
and evil affections of the Jews." * 

All antiquity has practised the emblematical method of instruc- 
tion, and the metempsychosis and purification by pain, is only a fig- 
urative representation of the apostolic doctrine. Hence, the be- 
lievers of restoration should be willing to resign the allegorical 
for the literal description; and joyfully accept a full and divine de- 
clarvtion of fact, instead of allusive representations, under eastern 
inetaphors : and as the doctrine of restoration involves that of 
future retnbution and expiation of sin, by corporeal punishment, 
which is incompatible with the evangelical doctrine of salvation, 
by grace, this method of proving the salvation of all men, has 
been deservedly abandoned, by the great body of Universalists, 
in A^merica; and, I believe, clearly disproved in my lecture on 
*'Hell destroyed. "t 

The means proposed by the Universalian Redemptionists are 
equally illusive. The supposition of Christ^s Deity, I have eter- 
nally refuted, in my lecture on that subject; and that he never 
made any expiatory sacrifice, is as manifest, from my lecture on 
the Mediatorial office.X Consequently, the means proposed by this 
scheme, entirely fail to effect the end; and are completely demol- 
ished, by the overthrow of the absurd, heathen, and anti scriptu- 
ral doctrine of divine incarnations. 

The words restoration, restitution, must convey to the mind of 
every intelligent man, the notion of restoring men te a state of 
pristine favor, purity, and happiness, which no sensible or well 
instructed Universal ist believes; and which every well informed 
Christian must di.sbelieve — for the Scriptures positively declare^ 
that the first state of existence was not spiritual but natural, and af- 

* See Bellamy's Hist, of all Relig. p. 128. f See "Systematical Theolo- 
gry," Balfour's Inquiry, and Kaeeiand's Lectures. \ See "Systematical 
theology ,'> part third," Lectures 10, 11, 12 and 13. 

13 



98 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, 

terwards that ichich is spiritimL * This plain refutation of this 
fundamental mistake, in the Pytliagorian Phiiosophj, should in- 
duce all, who prdfess adherence to the Scriptures, to reject,with- 
out delay, the absurd notions of pre-existent- human spirits offend- 
ing before they were in earthly bodies; and the equally absurd 
opinion of mankind being created pure and happy in Adam, and 
sinning before they had existence. But as soon as these anti- 
scriptural and irrational notions, together with the heathen fan- 
cies of angry and passionate gods, are expelled from the minds of 
Christians, Unwersalian Restorationists and (Jniversalian Redemp- 
tionists^ will cease to have an existence, in the religious world. 

The doctrine of salvation by grace, seems not to have been 
amalgamated with proper Unitarianism, from the apostolic age 
till the beginning of the present century. That the constituent 
parts of the system have always had a public reception and di- 
vine sanction, cannot be denied by any well informed Christian. 
Nothing is plainer in Scripture than the declarations of Moses, 
Jonah, and Paul, that salvation is of the Lord^\ and by grace ye are 
saved. % In relation to the divine unity, tlie Scriptures are equal- 
ly as express. Heary O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.\\ 
To us there is but one God, even the Father, one God and Father of 
all, who is above all, through all, and in all. § The present system 
of Universalism owes its organization to the Rev. Hosea Ballou, 
and the Rev. Abner Kneeland. '^A treatise on Atonement," by 
the former, and Lectures, by the latter, first published about 
the year 1805, formed the basis of the system, which has been il- 
lustrated, explained, and confirmed, in Ballou's *'Lecture Ser- 
mons," Kneeland's Lectures, my **Sysiematical Theology," 
and Balfour's Inquiry. A careful perusal of these four volumes, 
will suffice to give a clear view of the system, and arguments by 
which it is supported and established. 

During the last five years, the system has rapidly progressed 
towards perfection, in symmetry, beauty and influence. To this 
eveflt, several well conducted periodical papers greatly contibu- 
ted. The first periodical paper, entitled the "Gospel Visitant," 
commenced in 1817, but could scarcely then obtain support. In 
1819, cemmeaced the Boston '*Universalist Magazine," which 
has progressed to the seventh volume; and still continues to effect 
niu':h for the grooving cause. The next year, began the ''Chris- 
tian Messenger," (afterwards the ''Philadelphia Universalist 
Magazine,") in which the doctrine is largely and freely discuss- 
ed: and about the same time, the ''Gospel Herald," at New- 
York, which has contributed much to the support and dissemi- 
nation of tlie doctrine. In 1821, two other periodical papers, 
'^'Christian Intelligencer" and "Religious Inquirer," made their 
appearance, the first is published at Portland, Maine, and the 

* 1 Cor. 15. 46. t Deut. 33. 29; Jonah 2. 9. |Epb. 2. 5; Tit. 2. 11 and 
3. 7. II Deut. 6. 4j Mark 12. 29. $ 1 Cor. 8. 5, Eph. 4, 6. 



MEMOIR OP THE AUTHOR. 99 

latter, at Hartford, Connecticut. These have also been useful 
and successful auxiliaries to the cause of truth. In the western 
section of this state, much has been done by the circulation of 
the •'Gospel Advocate.'' 

A very considerable uniformity of opinion now prevails, 
throughout the whole connexion of professing Universalists. As 
far as iias been known, all Universalist ministers believe the doc- 
trine of the Divine Unity, and the Trinity is completely exploded 
from the connexion. Salvation as the gift of God, without allusion 
to works of righteousness or vicarious sufferings, is now re-ech- 
oed from almost every pulpit belonging to the denomination. 
The number of the Universalist Clergy, in the United States, 
holding fellowship with the different Associations, is about 150; 
and the number of societies about 300. In the State of New- 
York, there are one '^Universalist Convention'' of the State, and 
seven Associations, namely: the Western^ Genesee, Cayuga^ 
Black River, Chenango, Hudson River, and Chataitque, Each 
Association consists of all the Ministers, and tivo delegates from 
each society within its boundary, besides the Visiting Committees 
from the neighbouring Associations: the Ministers and Delegates 
constitute the Council of the Association, in which all subjects 
are determined by a majority of votes. The Council of the Con- 
vention consists solely of Ministers, delegated from the different 
Associations. Hence, the discipline is almost completely Pres- 
byterian, as appeals may be carried from Societies or Churches, 
to the Associations, and from the Associations to the Convention, 
In New-England there are five AssoclMions and one General Con- 
vention. Universalists are rapidly increasing in Ohio, where they 
have also formed an Association, which bids fair to grow and 
prosper Universalism is also making its way into Pennsylvania, 
Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Indiana. Tru- 
ly the harvest is great, but the laborers are few; may the Lord, 
who gave the word, increase the number of them who publish 
salvation, and say unto Zion, thy God reigneth. — Amen.* 

* While we thus pray for the increase of public advocates of the doctrine, 
we a'? earnestly pray, that none may enter its ministry, who are not duly 
qualified to Jeed the people with knowledge and understanding. As Universal- 
ism does not address itself to the passions, but to the understandmg of men, 
we would sincerely request all candidates for the Pastoral office, to make 
themselves worthy the character of a g-ood English scholar, and »vell acquain- 
ted with the doctrine, before they attempt to become its advocates: and let 
not one be ordained a minister, in the connexion, till he become intimately 
acquainted with Ecclesiastical History, and the Greek Testament. 



# 



oestehal viEW^ 



0¥ THE 



CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 



1. There is One Undivided, Invisible, and Eternal Lord God, 
subsisting in One Person^ Self-existent, Omnipresent, All-con- 
trolling, Uncontrolled, Sole Creator, Proprietor, and Governor of 
the Universe, who is Infinite and Unchangeable, in Power, Wis- 
dom and Goodness: and this Eternal Being, who alone possesses 
Immortalitv, known to the Jewish nation, as the God of Abraham^ 
and to the Christians, as the Lord God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, is the only object of religious worship, reverence^ 
and adoration. 

2. As God is Infinite in Power, he is capable of doing, what- 
ever his Infinite Wisdom sees fit to be done. Hence, whatever 
he wills to be done, must inevitably come to pass; because Eternal 
wisdom could not devise vvhat would be improper to be executed| 
and seeing Infinite Power cannot be resisted, Jehovah's counsel 
must stand, and he will do all his pleasure. 

3. The Eternal Spirit being Infinite and Unchangeable in Wis- 
dom, knew from all eternity whatsoever should come to pass; 
therefore, every action and every event must inevitably take 
place, in that very order and manner in which it subsisted in the 
Eternal Foreknowledge of the Deity: neither can the number of 
events be augmented or diminished, nor the causes, motives, or 
instruments, varied from the plan which Infinite Wisdom survey- 
ed from all Eternity.* 

4. Jehovah being Infinite and Unchangeable in Goodness, can 
never become better nor worse than he has been throughout all 
eternity. Hence, all notions of Expiatory sacrifices as means of 
placating the Deity, are eternally useles and unnecessary; for if 
God ever needed a placatory atonement, he must eternally require 
one, because he is unchangeable; but if he were eternally and 
unchangeably good, he never required such sacrifices, nor means 
of placation: cbnsequently, all suppositions of salvation or deliv- 
erance from the demands of Infinite Justice, or the influence of 
any principle or attribute of Deity, are inconsistent with correct 
views of God's perfections, and therefore, both false and absurd. t 

* F r: illu'-.tration an 1 demonstration of these three Articles, see ray Sys^ 
tematical Theology, Lectures second and third, 
f See LGctures 6 and 12, Systematical Theolog^y. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOK. 101 

5. The Eternal has not onlj exhibited his being antl perfec- 
tions, in tlie works of Creation and Providence, so cltarly, that 
all Atheism and Infidelity are left without excuse,* but he has, 
moreover, given, in the Mosaic and Christian Dispensations, a 
full, perspicuous, consistent, and intelligible Revelation of his 
Will, Purposes, and Favor to Mankind, relative to all things that 
concern their spiritual well-being and happiness in time and eter- 
nity: and he has also attested the claims of this Revelation to ce- 
lestial origin, by so unequivocal signs and evidences, that none 
but the stubbornly rebellious, or absolutely indifterent, can re- 
main in doubt or dissatisfaction.! 

6. In this blessed system of Divine truth, are clearly revealed, 
the unchangeable relationship of mankind, universally and indis- 
criminately, to God as an impartial and loving Father:^ their 
ceaseless existence and well-being under his benevolent adminis- 
tration; the ways of virtue leading to happiness, and the bye- 
paths of vice, beset with snares and misery, and so distinctly 
marked, that the way-faring man may not err therein; the imper- 
fections and infirmities of the earthly nature, (1 operating as caus- 
es which produce and continue moral turpitude, sorrow, and 
death, fully devellcped; the termination of vice, pain, and mise- 
ry, gloriously announced: and the whole scene closed by the re- 
generation of all sinful intelligences, in the knowledge, love, 
holiness, and beatitude of the Deity, to spend an endless eternity 
in celestial brotherhood, illumed and beatified by the presence and 
glory of an approving God.§ 

7. For the management of that divine economy which Infinite 
Wisdom has appointed for the discipline and instruction of man- 
kind, it pleased the Eternal Father to select Jesus of Nazareth, 
son of Joseph and Mary ^ by natural aud ordinary generaticm, 
and a descendant of the family of David, who lived in the reign 
of Augustus Cesar, the Roman GoTernor, and at the age of thirty 
years, supernaturally to qualify him to be a Prince, Prophet, 
and Saviour of mankind, who being endowed with the Holy Spir- 
it, in a higher degree than ever was communicated to any other 
man,** led a holy, harmless, and spotless life, set us an example 
of perfect morality, teaching not his own doctrine, tt nor doing his 
own will, but promulgating the doctrine and performing the will 
of his God and Father; and because of his persevering devotion 
and obedience to the Divine Commission he had received from 
Heaven, he was, by his mistaken countrymen, put to the cruel 
and ignominious death of the Cross, wherefore, God having rais- 

*Bom. 1-20 f See authenticitv and authority of the Scriptures. | MaJ. 
2. 10; Eph. 4. 6. ||Rom. 7. 18-^25, and 8. 20—23: 2 Cor. 5. 4. ^ See 
Lectures 15 and 19 of Systematical Theo!og:y. IT See Lcc{ure li, System- 
atical Theology. ** Acts 2. 36; 5. 31; and 10. 38. ff John 6. 38, and 
7. 16. 



IGKS MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

ed him from the dead, )iighly exalted him as the image of his per-- 
son, and the administrator ©f his kingdom among men,* whom. 
as shepherd and head, he will conduct to felicity, perfect and in- 
terminable, through the wisdom and power delegated to him by 
the Ancient of Diys.t 

8, The Lord Jesus in the exercise of that power and wisdom 
given him by the Father, hath established a holy church on earth, 
including all those of every sect or name, who calling themselves 
Christians and believing his sacred and divine commission, ear- 
nestly labor to understand his religion and conform their lives to 
his holy and perfect example. These, and these exclusively, con- 
stitute his church on earth; but they are a kind of first fruits of 
the Spirit, % a little leaven, which leaveneth the whole lump. 
Among them the presence and influence of the divine Spirit pe- 
culiarly dwell; II Jesus is with them in power and spirit;§ and the 
peace and consolations of the Almighty satisfy their souls with 
spiritual fatness. 

9. In this church, Christ has sanctioned aud instituted the or- 
dinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, f to be continued to 
all generations: and these are characteristic of the order of God's 
house. Baptism represents that cleansing or purification, which 
every soul of man requires^ and must experience before he can enter the 
regions of bliss and immortality. The Lord's Supper is not only a 
grateful remembrance of the Mediatorial sufferings and death on 
behalf of mankind, and a memorial of the blessed founder of our 
holy religion, but also a sacred bond and pledge of union between 
Christ and the believer. Baptism may be duly administered by 
dipping or sprinkling the person in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
or in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,** according to 
disposition and circumstances; and the Sacrament of the Supper, 
received either kneeling or sitting, as may most tend to mental 
devotion, without any injury to the nature and design of these 
Christian Institutions. 

10, Christ has established an entire equality of authority and 
privilege, amoig all the ministers of his Gospei;tt whoever^ 
therefore, exercises Lordship over them, usurps Christ's Head- 
ship. Ministers duly approved by congregations, may both teach 

. *Mat. 28. 18; Philip 2. 9, 10. f Dao. 7. 13, 14. Though Christ be thus 
hig-hly exalted, and all Christians bow in bis name, yet he is by no means an 
object of lawful adoration. See Systematical Theology, p. ] 17. \ James 

1. 18; Rom. 8. SS. |1 John 14. 17, and 16.13. i Mai 18. 20; 28. 20. 
ITMat. 28. 19; Luke 22 19; 1 Cor. 11. 26; John 14. 3. 

** To be Baptized in the name of the Falher, Son, and Holy Spirit, means, 
to be baptized in the name and belief of one God, called the Father, reveal- 
ed by his Son Christ, whose message was confirmed by the influence and 
miracles of God : for the Holy Spirit, means the divine influence. See Dr. 
S. Clark's Commentary. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 103 

and rule,* agreeably to apostolic example, and the precepts of 
the Gospel. The ministers and officers of a church; may trans- 
act all business belonging thereunto, but in cases of difficulty or 
disagreemet^t, which cannot be satisfactorily settled, appeals 
ougnt to be made to the Association, or Presbytery,! and such 
matters as cannot be fully adjusted there, may be further carried 
to the Convention or Synod and there determined. This is that 
beautiful order exliibited in the New Testament, anJ practised 
hy the primitive followers and disciples of our Lord and Master. 

1 1. The word salvation^, implies deliverance from evil or danger. 
Hence, the term sojnetimes means a temporal deliverance:|: from 
sone danger of bodily health or happiness; and in other places 
of Scripture, it implies deliverance fro;n mwral evil, || which 
is effected through the renovating- influence of the Gospel, by 
faith and repentance. In this sense, it means deliverance from 
sin and its consequences, which begins when the sinner turneth 
from his iniquity and do^th that which is lawful and right: and 
becomes more and more perfect in proportion to -he renovation of 
the moral character through the increase of light and faith. Re- 
pentance is a change of mind,§ generally implying conviction of 
evil thoughts and actions, sorrow for past misconduct,^ and pur- 
poses of amendment: the change of views and desires conse- 
quential on repentance, may be justly called conversion.*^ Evan- 
gelical faith is that firm persuasionft of the truth of the Christian 
religion, which induces a man to conform his life to its precepts, 
interest himself in its hopes,^ and rely on the God of Mercy for 
the enjoyment of those blessings which he has therein promised to 
mankind, through Jesus Christ our I ord. Hence, regeneration 
and aalvation are synonymous, and imply that change of mind, 
character, and conduct, wrought in the human soul, by the knowl- 
edge and influence of Almighty God |||| which is rendered perfect 
and complete, by Christ, at the resurrection. 

12. God has endowed the mind of man with a certain portioa 
of freedom, so that he is justly accountable for his actions: yet 
this liberty can by no means resist or vary the Divine purpose, §§ 
or render the least occurrence or action either contingent or 
doubtful; consequently, all praise or blame rests in the designs 
of the actor. Hence, retribution is rather consequential than ar- 
bitrary, being generally the effect of sin, and not the penalty of 
a law: ^^ thus, agreeably to the ancient maxim, '"virtue is its 

*1 Tim. 3. 5, and 5. 17. f Acts 15. 2, 6. | Ex. 14. 13. ||Acts 
13. 26; Rom. 1. 16; PhUip. 2 12. {Rom 11. 29; Heb. 12. 17. ir2 
Cor. 7. 10. **Ex. 2. 30. ft Ro^ri. 5. 1; Heb. 11. 1. t| James 
2. 22; Aets 15. 9; and Gal. 5. 6. |||| Philip. 2. 13. {{Rem. 9. 16, 19; 
Is. 46. 10; Eph. 1. 11. 

HT The Law of Gad is not the cause of Sin and death ; nor was it ever 
g-iren for the purpose of making man more liable to sin and misery than 



104 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

own reward," the Scriptures teach, that God is no respecter of 
persons; for he that doetli wrong shall suffer for the wrong he 
hatiidone.* In this way the righteous are recompensed in the 
earth, miichanore the wicked and the sinner; t and in this sense, 
we are manifest before the Judgment seat of Christ, and receive 
in body, according to what we have done, whether good or bad. % 

13. Man is a simple, material, and mortal being; when he dies 
his conscious existence becomes extinct and he therefore depends 
wholly on the resurrection for restoration of existence and sens- 
ation. In dissolution, his soul or spiritual part, being refined and 
purified, will be immortalized and freed from all moral imperfec- 
tion, bodily passion, or defect; and constituted imperishable and 
happy in whatever place or circumstances it may be destined to 
occupy. And as the scriptures and all antiguity induce us to be- 
lieve the existence and agency of Angels, which are represented 
as men || in several parts of the scriptures, there can be no rea- 
son assigned, why God may not commission as many of these 
huinran Spirits as he pleases, to minister in the affairs of mankind 
on this earth. § 

14. The Resurrection follows instantaneously after death, but 
the body that shall be raised will consist only of that part of man 
which has always been invisible; for flesh and blood cannot in- 
herit the Kingdom of God; therefore the fleshly part once com- 
mitted to the earth shall never be resusitated: ^^dust shall return 
to dust,^' The chatige in the resurrection shall be perfect and 
complete; from earthly to heavenly, from carnal to spiritual, from 
mortal to immortal Our identity shall be preserved, consequent- 
ly the resurrection, shall not be a new creation, but a purification 
of the constituent principles of the intellectual man. Every one 
shall feel and know himself to be the same, and our knowl- 
edge shall extend to all former acquaintance. All the human 
race shall be raised in glory, but all shall not be alike happy. 
Moral evil and pain shall be for ever unknown, but the grade of 
moral and intellectual attainment at death shall be retained in 
the change, and one star shall differ from another in glory to all 
eternity 

fee would have been without it Sin and its consequences would have sub- 
sisted, had there never been a law. 

*Col. 3. 25. fProv. 11.31- J2 Cor. 5. 10. j] Gen. xviii. 2, 5, 22; and 
xix. 1. Hcb. xiii. 2: Judges xiii. 11, 21. 

For illnstration and proof of this and the following article, the reader is 
referred to Systematical Theology, fourth part; Law's "Theory of Reli- 
gion," and Simpson's "Essays on the language of Scripture." 

Done at Utica, in the beginning of 1826,7 
And fortieth year of the Author^ s age, 5 



INTRODUCTION 



TO THE STUDY OF 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 



OF THE SCRIPTURES IN GENERAL; 

The word, Scripture^ signifies a writing of any kind and may 
be applied to any written production without discrimination, but 
**The scriptures" used emphatically, denote, primarily the sa- 
cred l)ooks of the Jews, * and, afterwards, the writings of the 
Apostles and Evangelists, t In like manner the word, Bible, ori- 
ginally signifies a book of any description, but employed em- 
phatically '*The Bible" has become a common appellation of that 
book which contains the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. Hence, 
that collection of sacred books which includes the whole of Di- 
vine Revelation, has obtained among christians the name of **The 
Bible," or ''The Scriptures," byway of eminence. 

The Greek word, Diatheke, chiefly implies a disposition or dis- 
pensation, and being used to denote that disposal of secular af- 
fairs which a man may make, during his life, and which becomes 
of force after his death, has been appropriately rendered testa- 
ment. The word, however, may signify a law, an agreement or 
covenant: but notwithstanding the difference of opinion on this 
subject among learned Commentators, the word, Testament, seems 
the most suitable. The word. Covenant, implies reciprocal condi- 
tions, and though well applied to the Jewish scriptures because in 
them God makes promises and requires certain duties, to whick 
Israel assenting, the covenant or agreement was ratified by the 
blood of sprinkling, yet is not accurately descriptive of the Evan- 
gelical histories. In human covenants, the contracting parties 
are at liberty, and have generally the same right of proposing the 
conditions on which they are willing to agree and covenant to- 
gether, but here the case is far otherwise. God is the Creator 
we his creatures. He is the sovereign lawgiver, whose precepts 
sh »uld be obeyed without reserve. When therefore he speaks of 
making a covenant with mankind, his meaning is, that out of con- 
descension and mere goodness, he is pleased to descend from the 
majesty of his glory to engage his creatures to obedience by a 
^Luke 4. 21. fJohQ v. 39 ; and 2 Tim. iii. 16. f 2 Peter iii. 16. 

14 



i06 OF THia SCRIPTURES IK GENERAL. 

principle of love and gratitude. The New Testament therefore is 
that which contains the last will or sacred deed of our Heavenly 
Father, revealed to us by Jeaus, the Christ, declaring the benefits 
he has ordained to confer on us, both in this world and in that 
which is to come. And as all these inexpressible blessings are 
so many tokens of parental love and favor, communicated freely 
and graciously to the children of men, they are better described 
by the general name of a will or testament, than that of covenant. 
The title of the New Testament was not given to the Christian 
scriptures by the Evangelists or Apostles^ for in their time the can- 
on of this sacred volume was not composed. It is, notwithstand- 
ing, of ancient and scriptural authority. By Jeremiah,* God 
promises a New Testament to his people, and in certain pla- 
ces of the New Testament, t it is said to be ratified by the death 
of the Testator. The primitive Christians therefore appropriate- 
ly applied this title to their holy writiags, intending thereby to 
designate the volume as that sacred record or deed in which the 
Christian's inheritance is sealed to him as a Son of God and an 
heir of Heaven: and the death of Christ, as a Testator, set forth 
and applied to our advantage. 

The word, dispensation^ is used to denote those different sys- 
tems of celestial policy, which the Deity has been pleased to com- 
municate for the disipline and government of his intellectual off- 
spring. Some have inconsiderately and unreasonably taken of- 
fence at the variety of the Divine conduct towards mankind, and 
imperatively denounced the thought of different dispensations 
originating from the one, unchanging Eternal. But these men 
ought to reflect, that a governor may alter his laws, and still re- 
main constant and unchangeable, because he may not always have 
the same subjects, or because their condition may change* God 
therefore as a prudent Father, deals differently with his children, 
in different times and places according to their age, strength, and 
capacity. When the aborigines of this world had departed from 
that law i^f nature, which tho Creator had implanted in them as 
reasonable creatures, it was necessary to recal them to their duty 
by an express revelation. Jehovah having redeemed the children 
of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, where they bad long bees 
accustomed to the manners aud ceremonies of the Egyptians, it 
was perhaps expedient to adopt a different administration from 
that which would have been necessary for persons in different 
circumstances or selected for other ends. 

Witsius, X says * 'There is a remarkable agreement between 
the Jewish and Egyptian religions, which never could have arisen 
fortuitously. Either the Egyptians have derived from the Jews, 
or the Jews from the Egyptians.'' Indeed there is nothing that 
more reasonably accounts for this striking similarity, than the sup- 
position that Moses retained in the Jewish Ritual, whatever was 

* Chap. xsxi. 31 . j Mat. xxvi. 28. Heb. ix, 1 5. t Egyptiaca, book first. 



OF THE SCRIPTURES IN GENERAL* 107 

considered harmless in the Egyptian ceremonies. *'When a man," 
saysBeausobre, "'intends to build, he must erect scaftolds, which 
must again be taken down, when the building is finished : and 
this is the reason, which the New Testament assigns for the dif- 
ference between the two covenants." 

The author of the new covenant proceeded in the same manner 
as the legislator of the old had done before. God's design ia 
giving the children of Israel a law, being to distinguish them 
from the rest of the world by a particular kind of worship; he 
adapted, in the best manner that can be conceived, the ordinances 
he gave that people, to their state and circumstances. Whatev- 
er might lead them into idolatry, that he forbade upon the severest 
penalties. But lest they should at the same time, have an aver- 
sion for the religion he instituted, he was therefore pleased to ap- ' 
propriate to his worship, some of the harmless customs and cer- 
emonies that were received among those nations, with whom the Is- 
raelites had conversed The same method was observed by Jesus 
Christ, in his establishment of the religion which he revealed to 
mankind. 

All men in general, of what rank soever they be, or whatever 
religion they profess, cannot but look with profound respect, and 
a pious admiration, on a book which has these two characters: 
First, That lays before them that supreme happiness, of which the 
authorof our nature hath implanted an invincible desire within us; 
and which, Secondly, in order to lead them thereto, brings them 
only back to a spiritual worship, to the dictates of their own con- 
sciences, and requires nothing of them, but what they would have 
been in duty bound to perform, even though no other law had 
been given them, if they would but have made a due use of their 
reason. Where shall we find a book that teaches a worship more 
worthy both of God, and of a reasonable creature? It is plain 
and imaftected, free from all rites and ceremonies which are not 
either holy in themselves, or directly tend to make men holy in 
their lives and conversation, and is withal great and noble. It 
teaches us to love, above all things, the most amiable of beings, 
and to express this love, by a perfect and sincere obedience to 
his commands. 

God having been pleased to make use of the ministry of men, 
in revealing to us his will, and transmitting te posterity the divine 
oracles; a general knowledge, at least, of several previous articles 
is absolutely necessary for a right understanding of the holy scrip- 
tures. We must know, for instance, the time and country in which 
the sacrec? penman lived; their language and character; the religion^ 
manners, customs, and usages of the people with whom they con- 
versed; and many other particulars, taken notice of hereafter. 

When we come to a close and thorough examination of the hO' 
ly scriptures, we shaU, unless furnished with the knowledge of 
the particulars above-mentioned, be continually liable to mistaksSy 



108 OF THE SCRIPTURES IN eENERALi,^ 

imagine we understand what we have no notion of, or, at besfy 
but a very imperfect one, and find ourselves puzzled and put to 
a stand at every turn. For want of these helps, the scriptures 
are frequently ill understood, and ill explained. Some put ab- 
stracted and metaphysical senses on passages that contain plain and 
simple truths, and expressed in common term&. Others have 
learnt a system of divinity^ and instead of explaining scripture by 
scripture, by considering the context and joara//e/ places, wrest the 
word of God to their pre-coneeived opinions. Others again, hav- 
ing regard only to the modern languages, customs, and manners, 
cannot but mistake the meaning of the sacred writers, for want 
(if I may so say) of conveying themselves back to the time uhen^ 
the country where, the sacred penman wrote. Hence it con.es to 
pass, that the holy scriptures, and the christian religion, are so 
disfigured, as hardly now to be known in the schools and semina- 
ries of learning; where the heads of young students are filled with 
a thousand chimerical notions, entirely unheard of by the Evan- 
gelists. In order to remedy these inconveniences, we shall en- 
deavour to give a general knowledge of what is necessary for the 
more profitable reading the holy scriptures^ especially the New 
Testamevt. * 

I hope I shall be perfectly excusable for introducing, at this 
place, the following extract from Bishop Hare, On the Difficulties 
and Discouragements^ which attend the Study of the Scnptures, 

I do not wonder at the surprise with which you received, 
the advic*» I ventured to give you, in relation to the study of the 
Scriptures. For one, who is a clergyman himself, to seem to dis- 
suade those of his own order from a study that has so many ar- 
guments to recommend it, and which, in the opinion of all gcod 
men, ought to be their chief business, has, I confess, the appear- 
ance of a strange paradox, and that of the wors<^ sort. It looks 
like popery and priestcarft; and therefore young and tender 
minds may easily be forgiven, if they startle at the first proposal 
of it; those, especially, who have a just sense of the excellency 
and inspiration of the Scrijtures, and are eagerly bent on ihe 
pursuit of such truths, as more immediately tend to the advance- 
ment of virtue snd religion. 

I shall, in the first place, take leave to ask, Cuibono, What 
good can come from so much pains.^ For it may seen* that a free, 
serious, impartial, and laborious study of the Scriptures will be 
of no great service, for the following reasons: 

First — Because it is plain the orthodox faith is not founded on 
a nice and critical knowledge of the Scriptures. Many of the 
ancient Christ ians, it will be allowed, were not great critics, but 
argued very much in a mystical way. Origen in particular, whd 
was the greatest scholar Christianity had bred to that time, per- 

* See Beausobre and Lenfant's Introduction to the ISew Testament, pp. 
t; 2, 4, 160, 



QF THE SCRIPTURES IN GENERAL* 109 

petuaMy turns the letter of Scripture into allegory. Whence we 
maj reasonably conclude, that the knowledge of the bare literal 
sens? was, in the judgment of many, even in those times, thought 
to be of little use. 

Secondly — But it is certain that the original language of the 
Old Testament was known to very few for the first six centuries, 
in which t\iose general councils were held, wherein all the artuies 
of the orthodox faith were settled. They governed the/nselves 
and determined all their controverted points by the Greek ver- 
sion; and those who knew Hebrew best, whether they took to the 
mystical or literal way, had the misfortune to be least orthodi.x. 
So it was with Origen, who icnew the Scriptures so well, that he 
had them all by heart. And Eusebius and others, who studied 
and understood the literal sense of the Scriptures best in the 
next ages, succeeded little better; so that this study seem^J to 
have been of little use to the establishment of the orthodox faith. 
Now, if an exact and critical knowledge of the Scriptures was 
not necessary to the settling of the faith, it cannot be necessh-y 
to the understanding of it, or to the understanding those wiio 
have wiitten best on the explication and defence of it. On the 
contrary, such a knowledge tends to lessen our esteem for the 
Fathers of the church, by discovering their mistakes; and may 
weaken our regard to the decisions of Councils, by exposing the 
falseness of the ground they seem to be built upon. A man, well 
skilled in the literal sense of the Scriptures, will often find, in the 
Fathers and councils, texts of Scripture urged verj insufficient- 
ly; and a great stress laid upon passages, which, when critically 
explained, prove nothing, or perhaps make againAt them. Which 
suggests to me a third reason, why it may seem that such a study 
can do no good. 

Thirdhj — And that is, because the orthodox faith does not de- 
pend upon the Scriptures considered absolutely in themselves, but 
as explained by catholic tradition. The faith was preserved in 
creeds, and handed down from one orthodox bishop to another, 
whose business it was to keep this sacred depositum pure and un- 
defiled, and to deliver it to his successor entire as he received it. 
It was by this tradition the main articles of faith were preserved 
in the church, and not from any particular study of the Scrip- 
tures. The ground, therefore, of these articles must carefully 
be distinguished from the Scriptures that have been brought in 
proof of them; these proofs may be weak and inconclusive, but 
the truth stands independent of them. It is the faith they have 
received; and, if at any time they argue weakly for it, from the 
Scriptures, it is an argument indeed against their learning, but 
Bone against their orthodoxy. 

This therefore may seem another good argument to prove, that 
an exact and careful study of the Scriptures is not a safe and 
Xtfofitable study. It is a much safer, as well as a more compen- 



ilO OF THE SCRIPTURES IN GENERAL.^ 

dious way to make a man orthodox, to study the traditions of the 
church. 

But you will say, that to send you from Scripture to tradition, 
is to turn you out of paradise, the garden of God, into a vast, 
confused, bewildered wood; and this is so far from mending the 
matter, that it is ten times more laborious than the study I would 
dissuade you from; and so, I confess, it is, if all the ecclesasti- 
cal writers were to be carefully read, in order to know the cath- 
olic tradition. But that is not my meaning; the substance of 
catholic tradition lies in much less compass; the established 
church, you will allow, is orthodox in ail necessary points. If, 
therefore, you know the sense of the established church, you 
have in epitome the church catholic; and therefore you need on- 
ly study her opinions to make you orthodox; and this the most 
illiterate man may find in the liturgy and articles. This, I trust 
you will allow, is as short a way as could be wished, of knowing 
all that is necessary to he known. A very little time will serve 
a man to read, in his mother tongue, things which altogether 
would not fill a moderate volume; and he will be orthodox enough! 

Fourthly — But if you will insist shat it is Scripture and not 
tradition, on which the faith is founded; there is one thing further 
I must put you in mind of, which may seem to prove, that a pro- 
found and laborious study of the Scriptures, will not make you 
more orthodox. It is a fundamental principle among protestants, 
that whatever is necessary to be believed, is plainly and clearly 
revealed in the Scriptures. You will say, perhaps, that notwith- 
standing this declaration of protestants, it may and has been ur- 
ged against them by their adversaries, they do believe, and main- 
tain as necessary, articles that cannot be proved by plain and clear 
passages of the scripture. This, I confess, has been urged, and 
may possibly be true of all parties of them, but, if it be true, it 
only proves that they are not true to their principle; not that the 
principle is not in itself true and good. And he surely must be 
allowed to be the best protestant, who adheres best to the prin- 
ciples on which the reformation is founded. 

Fifthly — Once more; supposing the study of the Scriptures as 
necessary as you please; in the last place, I say, and I am sure 
the world will say it with me, that they have been sufficiently 
studied already. And if any parts remain still obscure, who 
can hope to clear up passages that have puzzled so many great 
men? Or will presume in disputable points to set up his private 
judgment, against them that were men of more learning, or abler 
parts, of greater application, and better acquainted with the tra- 
dition of the church, than any one will now be allowed to be? 
And (which is the best guide in the knowledge of religion) they 
were moreover mfen of exemplary piety, devotion, and humility; 
virtues, of which very little footsteps are to be fouud in the learn- 
ed men of our times. 



OF THE SCRIPTURES IN GENERAL. Ill 

My second argument is this, that a painful, exact, impartial 
study of the Scriptures, will by some, be thought not only to do 
no good, but also a great deal of hurt, both to the public and to 
yourself. 

It is certain that disputes in the church disturb the peace of it; 
and it is as certjfin these disputes have been as generally raised 
by men pretending to a superior knowledge of the Scriptures, 
and to discoveries that have escaped others. The Scriptures 
have always been made this use of by the heretics of old: and it 
is the character of the great heretics of this and the last age, who 
have set up for a free and impartial search into the literal sense 
of the Scriptures above the rest of the Christian v/orld. But 
with what success.^ They have purchased their pretended kilowl- 
edge of the Scriptures at the expense of their reputation, and 
and their study has destroyed their orthodoxy. And were not 
their books and opinions carefully suppressed, and their persons 
rendered odious to the people, who knows what disturbances they 
might have created to the church ? On the other hand, the peace 
the church has enjoyed for many years, among its own members^ 
seems to be owing to no one thing more, than to a general neglect 
of this study : and the dangers, that at present threaten its tran- 
quility, come wholly from men who have endeavored to revive a 
study that has so often proved pernicious to its peace. 

Nor ca^i it well be otherwise; for what security has a man that 
sets out in this way; that attempts to study the Scriptures in a 
free and impartial manner, laying aside all prepossessions and 
previous notions, resolving to see with his own eyes, and judge 
for himself, and to believe nothing that he is not, upon his own 
search, convinced is clearly contained within them? What secu- 
rity has such a man, that he shall not fail into some opinions that 
have been already condemned as erroneous and heretical, or who 
may interfere with those that are comhionly received. It is so 
natural for curious and inquisitive minds to deviate from the com- 
mon road, and the examples are so many, that probably, you will 
do so too; unless you have more lead in your constitution, or a 
more refined understanding, than any curious man ever had yet; 
otherwise you cannot be sure, that you shall not study yourself 
into doubts at least, if not into opposite opinions, concerning some 
received notions. You will doubt perhaps of the authority or au- 
thor of some canonical btmk, and think perhaps that some passa- 
ges are interpolated, or that some celebrated texts are not genu- 
ine, or should be otherwise read, or have not been rightly under- 
stood, or do not prove the point they are commonly brought to. 
You may fall into notions that will be thought tending to Arian- 
ism, or the like; you may reject arguments brought from the Old 
Testament, to prove the trinity, as trifling, and proving nothing 
but the ignorance of those that make use of them. You may 
think a prophecy has a literal meaning, where commonly the 



tiS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN GEXERAL% 

tnystical is thought the onlj one You may think that many texts 
in the New Testament, which appear against the Socinians, 
do not prove against the Arian nation. That the title, Son of 
God, has not always one uniform meaning in the gospel; and that 
that single expression, of itself, is no proof of any thing in God 
analogous to generation in men. That the identical consubstan- 
ti: lityof the Son, the eternal proces-ion of thie Spirit, and many 
other notions relating to the trinity, though they may be true ia 
themselves, are not so in virtue of the texts alleged for them. 

Now, if you should study yourself into any new oj^inions, or in*-, 
to old ones that have been condemned^ what will you do; Will 
you keep them to yourself or publish them.^ Or shall I rather say, 
it is no question. The authors of new notions are iapt to be very 
fond of them; they think it barbarous and cruel, to stifle the in- 
fant in its birth. The truths you think you have discovered, eith- 
er are, or will be thought by you, of too much importance to the 
honor of God and the good of religion, to be concealed. You will 
look on them as the blessings of God on your studies; and think 
it a capital crime to extinguish the light, and suppress the knowl- 
edge he has imparted to you. In short, you will think yourself 
under the highest obligation not to dissemble in religious matters, 
and conceal from the church of God, opinions which you are con- 
vinced are not only true, but of great service to it. Let me theii 
conclude, that the novel or revived opinions, which your study 
leads you into, will be published to the world; and if so what 
now will be the consequence ? 

Secondly — I add yourself, as another motive that ought to have 
great weight with you in this question; for you cannot disturb 
the peace of the church, \<rithout being greatly a sufferer your- 
self. If you really do not disturb its peace, it is all one, you will 
be interpreted to do it, and that will bring on you more evils than 
1 would wish to my greatest enemy. In a word, you will be 
thought a heretic; a term in which there is a strange magic, thougk 
it has no determinate meaning in the mouth of the people, nor 
any ill meaning in itself It is supposed to include in it every 
thing that is bad; it makes every thing appear odious and deform- 
ed; it dissolves all friendships, extin^'uishes all former kind sen- 
timents, how^ever just and well deserved; and, from the time a 
man is deemed a heretic, it is charity to act against all rules of 
charity; and, the more they violate the laws of God in dealing 
with him, it is, in their opinion, doing God the greater service! 

To say what the Scriptures have said, and in the very same 
words too, if not explained in the common way, will be blasphe- 
my; and the most sincere concern for the honor of Alnnghty 
God, you cannot be sure will not be interpreted downright Athe- 
is^n. Every thing you say, or do, will have a wrong turn given 
it^ A slip of memory will be made wilful prpvarication; a mis- 
take in a citation shall be forgery and corruption: an error, in an 



OF THE SCRIPTURES IN GENERAL* 113 

incidental point of learning, shall be good proof that you know 
nothing. Every inaccurate expression shall be pressed into a 
crime; any little wkrmth of temper shall be aggravated into 
pride, and positiveness into a contempt of authority and i!l man- 
ners. In short, all the indiscretions of a man's former life, shall 
be ripped up, and nothing forgiven, that can be remembered or 
strai^ied to his disadvantage. 

"^Vhereas the orthodox man lives quiet and at ease, unmolestsd 
and unenvied. His faults (and who has not some!) shall be ex- 
tenuated or excused, if not quite buried in oblivion, his want of 
temper shall be a commenda&le zeal: his indiscretion, good na- 
ture; his mistakes shall be imputed to haste or inadvertajicy; 
and, when they cannot be defended, it will be regarded in his 
favor, that the greatest men sometimes err, and the writers of 
the first rank are not always in the right; or perhaps a mistake 
shall turn to his advantage; it wilt be shown to be an error on 
the riglit side, and that a gOod cause drew him into it His lear- 
ning, on the other hand, shall be magniSed bevond measure; eve- 
ry body will be full of his good qualities, and his virtues shall be 
set in the best light to show themselves and cover his faults. In 
a v/ord, orthodoxy atones for all vices, and heresy extinguishes 
all virtues. That this is nothing but the bare truth, I appeal to 
what you every day hear and see yourself. 

In truth, there is nothing more absurd, than to say the glorious 
things we do daily of the Scriptures, and, at the same time, make 
the study of them, to men of sincere and honest minds, so ex- 
tremely hazardous and inconvenient. If, then, we would not be 
guilty of discouraging a study v/nich wc acknowledge to be the 
great duty of the clergy, as we are Christians; if we would be 
true to the fundamental principles of the reformation, as protest- 
ants, that the Scriptures are the only rule of faith; let us use our 
best endeavors to remove the great obstacles that lie against the 
study of them; let us do what we can, that learned men may 
have full liberty to study the Scriptures freely and impartially; 
good encouragement g;iven them to go through the labor and diffi- 
culties of such a study, not slightly and superficially, but with 
such application and diligence as the nature of the thing requires; 
and have leave to speak their sense with all manner of safety; 
that their opinions may be examined fairly, and with temper; that 
their names l>e not unjustly loaded with calumny and slander; 
that their words and actions may be interpreted with the same 
candor, as is shown to those that differ from them; that if what 
they advance be right, it may be received; if wrong, their errors 
may be refuted. 

Till there is such a liberty allowed to clergymen, till there is 
such a security for their reputations, fortunes and persons, I fear 
I must add, till so difficulty a study meets with proportionable 
«iicouragementj it is impossible a sincere, impartial) and laborious 

15 



114 OF THE SCRIPTURES IN GENERAL. 

application to it vshould generally prevail; and till it does, it is as 
impossible the Scriptures should be well understood; and till thej 
.^re, they are a rule of faith in name only. For it is not the words 
of Scripture, but the sense, which is the rule; and so far as that 
is not understood^ so far the Scriptures are not our rule, whatev- 
er we pretend; but the sense that men have put on them; men 
fallible as ourselves, and who were by np means so well furnish- 
ed, as the learned at present are, with the proper helps to find 
out the true meaning of Scripture. And while we take the sense 
of the Scriptures in this manner upon consent, and see not with 
our own eyes, we insensibly relapse into the principles of popery, 
and give up the only ground on which we can justify our separa- 
tion from the Church of Rome. It was a right to study and 
judge of the Scriptures for themselves, that our first reformers 
asserted with so good effect; and their successors can defend their 
adherence to them, on no other principle. 

If, then, we are concerned for the study of the Scriptures, 
farther than in words; if we in earnest think them the only rule 
of faith, let us act as if we thought so: let us heartily encourage 
a free and impartial study of them; let us lay aside that malig- 
nant, arbitrary, persecuting, popish spirit; let us put no fetters 
on men's understandings, nor any other bounds to their inquiries, 
but what God and truth have set. Let us, if we would not give 
up the protestant principle, that the Scriptures are plain and clear 
in the necessary articles, declare nothing to be necessary, but 
whatia clearly revealed in them. 

Then may we hope to see the study of these divine books, sa 
happily cultivated by the united labors of the learned, when un- 
der no discouragements, that all may, in the main, agree in the 
true meaning of them, 

Every degree of darkness is a want of so much light; and all 
want of lighfis a certain degree of darkness. To refuse them a 
greater degree of light, where it can be had, is in truth, to prefer 
darkness; which in my humble opinion, can never be reasonable 
or excusable. Those, who are of another mind, plainly distrust 
themselves or their cause. Which, if it can bear the light, why 
should it not be shown in it? But, if it cannot, it is not the cause 
of God, or of the Son of God; for God is light, and in him is no 
darkness; and the Son of God is the true light, which lighteth 
every man that cometh into the world." 

Such, alas! is the true picture of man's conduct. Man! blind 
to his own interest, and indifferent about all that tends to the 
w^ell being of his fellow men, or the honor of his immortal and 
beneficent Creator. Thousands are too timid to either profess 
religion, or follow its dictates — thousands make a gain of godli- 
Hess, and, void of all religion, assume the mask merely to obtain 
a name among men, or an opportunity to carry into execution 
fraudulent purposes; and, in general, the complaint of the Proph- 



AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES, 115 

et is too true: **the Prophets prophesy falsely, and the Priests bear 
rule bj their means; and the people love to have it so!" * But 
let all that would profit by reading the holy Scriptures, show 
their gratitude to their Maker, for his favor to them, divest them* 
selves of all prejudice, and set aside all creeds when they ap- 
proach the sacred volume, and receive with meekness, the word 
of life which alone makes wise to salvation. If men do not so, 
they cannot expect the blessing of God or the guidance of his 
holy spirit: but rather to be left to their own blindness and obdu- 
racy of heart, if not judicially hardened for their impiety, in re- 
jecting the counsel of God. 

Ministers of Christ should be instant in season and out of sea- 
son, to obtain a most intimate acquaintance with this sacred vol- 
ume — they should learn to call no man Master but Christ; and 
fearlessly to study and follow the dictates of holy writ. Though 
the learned Bishop, from whose writings we have taken the above 
extract, would seem to discotsrage the study of the Scriptures, 
every man must perceive the tone of irony in which the advice 
is given. We are creatures of a day, and are as a shadow that 
will soon fly away: let, therefore, our time be devoted to the best 
purj.oses. * 'Blessed is he that readeth." 

Nil sine magno 
Vita labore dedit mortalibus. Horace.^ 



authp:nticity of the scriptures. 

By the authenticity of a book is meant, that it is the original, 
genuine production of the age and person to whom it has been 
ascribed. Hence it easily appears that the authority and authen* 
ticity of a book are by no means inseparably connected: for if a 
book contain a correct narrative of facts, it will not invalidate 
these facts to attribute that book to a diiferent or even a ficticious 
author. Moreover the authority and authenticity of a book do 
not absolutely depend on its purity and integrity; for a book may 
have been interpolated and thereby corrupted; it may have been 
curtailed, and therefore not entirfe; and notvv^ithstanding it may 
have suffered in both these respects, it may still be regarded as 
both authoritative and authentic, because all the main facts and 
important features ©f the genuine narrative may still remain un- 
impaired and discernible. 

All Biblical Critics, who deserve the name, readily admit that 
there are interpolations, and likewise that there may be deficien- 

*Jer. 5. 3L 



116 AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

cies in the present copies of our scriptures, yet they do not 
hence deduce any argument against the authority or authenticity 
of these sacred books. Let it also be carefally remembered that 
the authority and authenticity of all the books of the New Testa- 
ment are not equally manifest. The evidence in favor of the 
Epistle to the Hebrews, that of James, the second of Peter, the 
second and third of John, that of Jude and the Revelation is by 
no means so clear and decisive as the evidence for the other re- 
mainino; books of the New Testament. — Nor can the claims of 
the two first chapters of Matthew and Luke and the story of the 
adultress in John 8, 3-12, be equally supported with those of the 
remaining parts of the same books. 

Having observed what we consider suitable and necessary pre- 
caution in the commencement of this Introduction, we now pro- 
ceed to show that the authenticity of the historical books of the 
New Testament is not only as certain as that of the best Roman, 
Grecian, and Jewish histories, but that the genuineness of tliese 
books is much more clear and evident than that of any other an- 
cient books in the world. 

1. Prom the internal evidence afforded by the'books, we derive a 
powerful argument in favor of their claims to be the genuine pro- 
ductions of the times and authors to whom they are ascribed. 
The books abound in Hebraisms, and therefore, must have been 
written by Jews; and the Chaldaic and Syriac words and idioms 
vdiich frequently occur, prove the writers not only to have been 
natives of Palestine, but also to have lived at that period in which 
a mixture of Hebrew, Syriac and Chaldaic constituted the com- 
mon dialect of that country. If we add to this the evidence ari- 
sing from the occurrence of Latin words with Greek terniinations, 
■we mufttfix the date of these books to that time in which the in- 
fluence of Rome effected the language and affairs of Palestine, 
which is the very epoch propounded by the sacred penmen. The 
Apostolic style bears a great resemblance to that of the Septua- 
gint or Hellenistic dialect, and abounds with words, expressions, 
proverbs and maxims, that were used among the Rabbins The 
style and language of the New Testament is just such as might 
h«ve been expected from the Apostles: it is neither pure nor class- 
ical, but Greek coming from men of Hebrew^ origin, such as would 
naturally be found in the writings of men wdio used a language, 
which, though spoken vrhere they lived, was not the common dia- 
lect of the country. This peculiarity of style is a strong proof of 
the genuineness of their writings. The Christian Fathers were 
for the greater part, totally ignorant of Hebrew, and the language 
of the few, who had any knowledge of Hebrew, as Justin, Ori- 
gen; and Epiphanius, bears no resemblance to that of the New^ 
Testament. Who then could forge these books. ^ The only per- 
sons who were at all qualified for such an undertaking, were the 
Jewish Christians, or Nazarenes, but these used chiefly, if not 



AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES, 117 

altogether, tlie Gospel by Matthew, and therefore, could not be 
suspected of forging the rest of the sacred writings. Moreover, 
there are numerous places in the other books of the New Testa- 
ments where several tenets of the Nazarenes, are disapprobated or 
condemned, which show clearly, that they could not be the wri- 
ters; and as no Jew, who disbelieved the christian religion, would 
forge books destructive of his own system and opposed to his edu- 
cation and prejudices, the Christian Scriptures must be assigned 
to the authors whose names have been affixed to them. 

These sacred writings contain many allusions to particular per- 
sons, places, opinions, and customs which are admitted by other 
authentic histories to have existed in those times; and the 
historical incidents mentionea by the sacred writers, are suffi- 
ciently corroborated by so indisputable authorities, as to render 
this part of the evidence decisive. The accuracy of the numerous 
allysions to the circumstances of that period, which the Gospel 
History embraces, amounts to proof, that it is the pi'oduction of 
authors who lived antecedent to the destruction of Jerusalem, and 
consequently about the time which has been ascribed to them, by 
the evidence v/hich has already been adduced. The destruction 
of Jerusalem swept away the whole fabric of Jewish Polity, and 
we cannot conceive how the memory of a future generation, could 
have retained that minute, varied, and intimate acquaintance 
with the customs, politics, and statistics of a nation no longer in 
existence, which is evinced in every part of the Evangelieai his- 
tory. On examinatian we find that both Heathen and Christian 
writers of subsequent ages, often betray their ignorance of the 
customs which prevailed in Judea during the time of Christ: and 
we must esteem it a strong argument in favor of the antiquity of 
the New Testament, that on subjects in which the probability of 
detection was so great, and where the writers could scarcely ad- 
vance one step in the narrative, without the danger of betraying 
their time by some mistaken allusion, it stands distinguished from 
every later composition, being able to bear the most minute and 
intimate comparison with cotemporary historians of that period 
in which the events of the Gospel History transpired. Had only 
one author exhibited this accuracy of allusion, it would have 
been esteemed a strong evidence of hi« antiquity; but where 
th»re are no less than seven different authors, whose productions, 
publislied in different parts of the world, sustain an almost unex- 
pected accuracy throu^^h the whole of their varied and distinct 
narratives: it seems difficult to avoid the conclusion, that they 
were either the eye- witnesses of their own history, or lived about 
the period of its accomplishment." 

2. External Testimony renders the evidence for the authenti- 
city of the Christian books as strong and satisfactory, as it is pos- 
sible for the mind of the inquirer to conceive. But before we 
proceed to state the evidence, let it be duly noticed, that the 



118 AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

New Testament contains four distinct histories, the genuineness 
of any one of which is perfectly sufficient. We are, therefore, 
entitled to so many separate probabilities in favor of the genuine- 
ness of the Gospel history. External testimony then affords us 
the following evidence: 

The historical books of the New Testament hare bfeen quo- 
ted or referred to, as the works of the disciples and followers of 
Jesus, by a chain of Christian writers, in close and regular suc- 
cession from the apostolic age to the preseat time: so that in pur- 
suing this train of references, we do not meet with a single chasm, 
from the days of the original writers. 

Here Paley very judiciously observes *Hhe medium of proof, 
stated in the proposition, is of all others the most unquestiona- 
bly the least liable to any practices «f fraud, and is not diminish- 
ed by the lapse of ages. Bishop Burnet, in the history of his 
own times, inserts various extracts from Lord Clarendon's his- 
tory. One such insertion is a proof, that Lord Clarendon's his- 
tory was extant in the time of Bishop Burnet, and that it had 
been read and received by him as a work of Clarendon's, and al- 
so regarded by him as an authentic account of the transactions 
which that work relates." 

The references to the books of the New Testament, in the 
writings of the Apostolic and Christian Fathers, are of three 
kinds: 1. Express quotations with the name of the author; 2. 
Quotations without the name of the author, introduced by the 
Jewish method of citing Scripture, ^' it is written;'^ S. Innumera- 
ble allusions without these marks, scattered throughout all the 
writings of the early Fathers. 

During the sec»nd century, Paplas, Ireneas, Clement, and 
TertuUian quote the Gospels by name, tell us that Matthew and 
Luke wrote first; that Mattliew composed his Gospel in the lan- 
guage of the Jews or Hebrew; that Mark derived the materials of 
his history from Peter's preaching, and that Luke recorded what 
he had learned of Paul. Justin about the year 130, TertuUian 
fifty years after, and Origen in 230, inform us that the Gospels 
were read and expounded in the Churches: and we have a num- 
ber of these excellent discourses of Origen, extant till the pres- 
ent time. Tatian in the second, and Ammonius in the third cen- 
tury, composed harmonies of the four Gospels; and Eusebius in 
the fourth century, wrote expressly ©n the discrepances of the 
Evangelists. 

Pantenus, Origen and others in the ihird century, and a host of 
writers in the fourth, have given Commentaries on different parts 
and books of the New Testament. In the fourth century, cata- 
logue*^ of the books of the New Testament, were formed by 
Athanasius, Cyril, and the council of I^aodicea, which interposed 
its authority to regulate and establish the Canon of the Scriptures. 
This council received all the books of the New Testament ex- 



AUTHENTICITY OF THE SGRIPTURKS. 1 19 

c<ept the Revelation. Throughout the numerous controversies 
and divisions of the Christian church from the Apostolic age to 
the present time, the Scriptures of the New Testament have 
been acknowledged as authentic, and regarded as books possess- 
ing authority, bj all sects without exception. For proof and il- 
lustration of all that has been here alledged, for the authenticity 
of the New Testament, the reader is referred to Paley's Eviden- 
ces, Jones' New Method of settling the Canon, Marsh's Michae- 
lis, and above all to that immortal monument of learning and in- 
dustry, Lardner's "Credibility of the Gospels." 

But there is another argument, which is still more directly ad- 
dressed to our senses. We can produce a vast number of man- 
uscripts, found in various countries; many of them from eight to 
twelve hundred years old: likewise ancient versions of these 
books, in languages which have long since ceased to be spoken in 
any part of the world. The existence of these manuscripts and 
versions, show to great satisfaction, that the Scriptures are no 
modern contrivance. The translations into the Syriac and Latin 
could not be later than the second century; and the Vatican and 
Ale.i:andrine Manuscripts were not made later than (he fifth. 

Notwithstanding all this accumulation of proof, we can yet 
adduce a species of evidence which will be admitted by unbelie- 
vers as still more cogent than any that has been offered. The tes- 
timony of unbelievers themselves. Celsus, a heathen Philoso- 
pher, about the middle of the second century, wrote a book pro- 
fessedly against Christianity, in Which he quotes the Gospels, and 
says to the Christians: ''these things we have alleged out of your 
own writings.'' This distinct assertion of Celsus, that the books 
to which he refers were composed by the disciples of Jesus, is an 
argument in favor of the authenticity of these books, which can- 
not be alleged for many of th« most esteemed composi- 
tions of antiquity. Indeed, this single testimony may be 
considered as decisive of the fact, that the history of Christ was 
written by his disciples. What Celsus was in the second. Por- 
phyry became in the third, and Julian in the fourth century. 
Porphyry calls Matthew the Evangelist of the Christians, and Ju- 
lian mentions both the name of Matthew and Luke. The works 
of these writers have baen long lost, but a great part of them is 
preserved in the replies made to them by Origen, Cyril, Jerome, 
and Eusebius. Not one of these keen antagonists, ever suggested 
the idea of the Gospel being spurious. On the contrary, they 
uniformly admit with the Christians the geouineness of the books 
which ought forever to settle the question in relation to the au- 
thenticity of the Christian Scriptures. 

"It is most certain, and ought not to be dissembled, that all the 
books of the Old and New Testaments have not come confirmed to 
tis by the samo degree of evidence. They may be properly dis- 



120 AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

tributed into two classes, books of Fact^ and books of Oplnhn^ 
Under the fornier class I would comprise from Genesis to the book 
of Jabj with the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles; and under the 
latter, to make the largest concession to this argument, the Ha- 
giographa and Prophets, i. e. all the remainder of the Old Testa- 
ment^ with the Epistles and Apocahjpse of the New. Now, that 
we may wave all discussjon of the evidences and importance of 
the latter collection, the Christian and Jewish systems need no 
support beyond the authenticity of the historic class; and I assert 
in the fullest confidence, and appeal to a multitude of publications 
in behalf of this assertion, that no history whatever, taking its 
antiquity into consideration, has more claims to be received as 
genuine, than the histories in question. And what need of cir- 
cumstantial detail in repelling the objections of men, who really 
know just nothing of the subject, and satisfy iheiv reason -dnd phi- 
losophy by peremptory asseveration onl}^, unilluminated by one sin- 
gle ray of information on the topic in dispute.^ To contravene 
positions, that have been discussed again and again by writers of 
the first genius and erudition, and to disparage the genuineness 
of the bible histories wholly and indiscriminately, without some 
precision of investigation, some special allegations, founded on 
the report of authentic documents, is intolerable arrogance, and 
the consummation of literary profligacy. With respect to the 
internal evidence of these histories, I am persuaded, and would en- 
gage to prove in detail, that they are exceedingly superior to 
those of any ancient records whatever, whose authenticity is ad- 
mitted; evidences, of which no man will doubt, who does not in- 
sist, OH mathematical demonstration in cases only susceptible of va- 
rying probabilities. However this be, it is my settled persuasion, 
deduced from experience and the manners of mankind, that, if 
no written memorials of the Jewish and Christian dispensations 
were at this moment in existence, the present condition of the 
professors of these systems, as a traduction of believers in a cer- 
tain system, composing vast aggregates of men through a succes- 
sion of ages, in a variety of instances persecuted, distressed, and 
destroyed for their belief cannot be accounted for, but on a sup- 
position of the original reasonableness of these dispensations, in the 
apprehensions of the first professors: and consequently of their 
probable authenticity: unless indeed we are resolved to exempt 
the men of those aeras from the common benefits of ratiouality. 
I shall only add, from a multiplicity of cogent instances, witli 
reference to one branch of evidence of the first moment, that ai 
comparison of thexxviii. chapter of Deuteronomy only, with the sub- 
sequent and present state of the hraelitish nation, must flash con- 
viction, in favour of the prophetical pretensions of the Scrip- 
tures: for what afFrontery will undertake to prove that the book 
of Deuteronomy was composed posterior to these events ?" * 
"^ WakefielJ's EKaminatioa of the A^e, of Reason. 



AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 121 

Having made these observations on the authenticityof the Histor* 
ical books of the New Testament, ne judge it expedient to make a 
few similar remarks on the Historical books of the Old; for o.i the 
authenticity and authority of the four gospels an i five books of 
Moses is suspeniied the veracity of the Jewish and Christian dis- 
pensations: and every man must perceive that the evidences for the 
Mosiac and Christian Histories, mutually strengthen and confirm 
each other. 

'*In what age and by what author any book is wri' tert is a question 
of fact, tliatc <n only be answered by historical testimonies. These 
historical testimonies are, 1. Unexceptionable witnesses, who pos- 
sessed both the m^^ans of knowing, and who were also wilUng to 
communicate the truth; and, 2. Cert ^in marks vvhich may be dis- 
cerned in the subject-matter, di;.:tion, genius, and st}le of the 
books, and which show th it they were written by the authors to 
whom they are ascribed, or about the age to which they are refer- 
red. The former are termed external arguments, and the latter, 
internal; and as these two species of testimony are universally ad- 
mitted to be sufficient for proving the genuineness of the writings 
of Thucydides, Plutarch, or Livy, or of any other ancient profane 
authors, no further testimony ought to be required for the solution 
of our question. 

That the Pentateuch was written by the great legislator of the 
Hebrews, by whom it was addressed to his conteinporaries, and 
consequently was not, nor could be, the production of later times, 
we are authorised to affirm from a series of testimonies, which, 
whether we consider them together or separately, form such a bo- 
dy of evidence, as can be adduced for the productions of no an- 
tient profane witers whatever: for, let-it be considered what are 
the marks and characters which prove the genuineneis and authen- 
ticity of the works of any antient author, and the same arguments 
may be urged with equal, if not with greater force, in favor of the 
writings of Moses. 

1. 'It is an undeniable fact, that Hebrew ceased to be the liv- 
ing language of the Jews soon after the Babylonish captivity, and 
that the Jewish productions after th^it period were in general ei-^ 
ther Chaldee or Greek. The Jews of Palestine, some ages before 
the appearance of our Saviour, were unable to comprehend the 
Hebrew original without the assistance of a Chaldee paraphrase; 
and it was necessary to undertake a Greek transl *tion, because 
that language alone was known to the Jews of Alexandiia. It ne» 
cessarily follows, therefore, that every book which is written inpure 
Hebrew, was composed either bf^fore or about the time of the Baby- 
lonish captivity!* This being admitted, we may advance a step fur- 
ther, and contend, that the period which elapsed between the com- 
position of the most ancient and the most modern book of the Old 

*See Doederlein Institutio Theologi Christiani, sect. 3W. torn. i. p. 105. 
jVorimbergae, 1778. 

16 



122 AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES.- 

Testament was very considerable; or, in other words, that the 
most ancient books of the Old Testament were written a length of 
ages prior to the Babylonish captivity. No language continues 
during many centuries in the same state of cultivation, and the 
Hebrew, like other tongues, passed through the several stages of 
infancy, youth, manhood, and old age. If, therefore, on compar- 
ison, the several parts of the Hebrew Bible are found to differ, not 
only in regard to style, but also in regard to character and culti- 
vation of language^ if the one discovers the golden, another the 
silver, a third a brazen, a fourth the iron age, we have strong in- 
ternal marks of their having been composed at different and dis- 
tant periods. No classical scholar, independently of the Grecian 
history, woul i Relieve that the poems ascribed to Homer were 
written in the age of Demosthenes, the orations of Demosthenes 
in the time of Origen, or the commentaries of Origen in the days 
of Lascaris and Chrysoloras. For the very same reason it is cer- 
tain that the five books, which are ascribed to Moses, were not 
written in the time of David, the psalms of David in the age of 
Isaiah, ner the prophecies of Isaiah in the tima of Malachi. But 
it appears from what has been said above, in regard to the extinc- 
tion of the Hebrew language, that the book of Malachi could not 
have been written much later than the Babylonish captivity^ liC- 
fore that period, therefore, were written the prophecies of Isaiah, 
still earlier the psalms of David, and much earlier than these the 
books which are ascribed to Moses. There is no presumption, 
therefore, whatsoever, a priori, that Moses was not the author er 
compiler of the Pentateuch.* 

2. But further, the five books of Moses contain 'a system of 
ceremonial and moral laws, which, unless we reject the authority 
of a// history, were observed by the Israelites from the time of 
their departure out of Egypt till their dispersion at the taking of 
Jerusalem. These laws therefore are as ancient as the conquest 
of Palestine. It is also an undeniable historical fact, that the 
Jews in every age belived that their ancestors had received them 
from the hand of Moses, and that these laws were the basis of their 
political and religious instittrtions, as long as they continued to be 
apeople."t Things oi private concern may easily be counterfei- 
ted, but not the laws and constitutions of the whole country. It 
would, indeed, have been impossible to forge the civil and reli- 
gious code of the Jews without detection: for their civil and r,eli- 
gious polity are so blended and interwoven together, that the one 
cannot be separated from the other. They must, therefore, have 
been established at the same time; and derived from the same ori- 
ginal; and both together evince the impossibility of any forgery 
more than either of them could singly. The religion and govern- 

* Bishop Marsh's Authenticity of the Five Baol?s of Moses vindicated, 
pp. 6,7, 
fibidp. 7 



AUTHEI^TICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES, 12S 

merit of a people cannot be new modelled. Further, many of the 
institutions, contained in the ceremonial and moral laws given to 
the Jews by Moses, were so burthensome, and some of tkera were 
so hazardous, or rather so certainly ruinous to any nation not se-? 
cured by an extraordinary providence correspondent to them— es- 
pecially those relating to the sabbatical year, the resort of all the 
males to Jerusalem annually at the three great festivals, and the 
prohibition of cavalry — that forged books, containing such pre- 
cepts, would have been rejected with the utmost abhorrence. As 
the whole Jewish people were made the depositories and keepers 
of their laws, it is impossible to conceive that any nation, witli 
such motives to reject, aad such opportunities of detecting, the for- 
gery of the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteron- 
omy, should yet receive them and submit to the heavy yoke impo- 
sed by the laws contained in them. That they should often throw 
it off in part, and for a time, and rebel against the divine authority 
of their law, though sufficiently evinced, is easily to be accounted 
for, fr«m what we see and feel in ourselves and others every day: 
but that they should return and repent and submit to it, unless it 
were really delivered by Moses, and had the sanction of divine 
authority, is utterly incredible. 'We are therefore reduced to 
this dilemma, to acknowledge either that these laws were actually 
delivered by Moses, or that a whole nation during fifteen hun- 
dred years groaned under the weight of an imposture, without 
once detecting or even suspecting the fraud. The Athenians be- 
lieved that the system of laws, by which they were governed, 
was composed by Solon; and the Spartaws attributed their code to 
Lycurgus, without ever being suspected of a mistake in their be- 
lief. Why then should it be doubted, that the rules prescribed in 
the Pentateuch were given by Moses? To deny it, is to assert 
that an effect may exist without a cause, or that a great and im- 
portant revolution may take place without an agent. We have 
therefore an argument little short of mathematical demonstration, 
that the substance of the Pentateuch proceeded from Moses; and 
that the very words were written by him, though not so mathemat- 
ically demonstrable as the former, is at least a moral certainty. 
The Jews whose evidence alone can decide in the present instance, 
have believed it from the earliest to the present age: no ©ther per- 
son ever aspired to be thought the author, and we may venture to 
affirm, that no other person could have been the author. For it is 
wholly incredible, that the Jews, though weak and superstitious, 
would have received in a later age a set of writings as the genu- 
ine work of Mose«, if no history and no tradition had pres«rved 
ihe remembrance of his having been the author."* 

* Bishop Marsh's Authenticity ef the Five Books vindicated, pp.7, 8, See 
also Bishop Glcig's edition of Stackhouse's History of the Bible, vel. i. pp. xir 
— xix. The following articles of the Jewish Confession of Faith sufficiently 
attest liow ^rmly the Jews believe the Peatateugjj to be the work of Moses.'^ 



184 AUTHENTICITY OP THE SORIPTUREs/ 

3. Although the spirit of antient simplicity, which breathes 
throughout these books, renders it improbable that they were fab- 
ricated in a later age; yet, when we add to this the universal con- 
sent of those persons, who were most concerned, and best able, 
to ascertain the point in question, we have an additional testimo- 
By in favor of the genuineness and authenticity of the Pentateuch. 
If we believe other nation^;, when they attest the antiquity and 
specify the authors of their laws, no just reason can be assigned 
why we should not give equal credit to the Jews, whose testimo- 
ny is surely as much deserving credit as that of the Athenians, the 
Lacedemonians, the Romans, and the Persians, concerning Solon, 
Ijycurgus, Numa, and Zoroaster :* or rather, from the Tacts we 
shall proceed to state, they are better entitled to belief than any 
ocher nation under heaven. *Evety book of the Old Testament 
implies the previous existence of the Pentateuch: in many of them 
it is expressly mentioned, allusion is made to it in some, and it is 
quoted in others. These contain a series of external evidence in 
its favour, which is hardly to be confuted; and when the several 
links of this argument are put together, thsy will form a chain, 
which it would require more than ordinary abilities to break. In 
the first place, no one will deny that the Pentateuch existed in the 
time of Christ, and his apostles, for they not only mention it, but 
quote it.t 'This we admit,' reply the advocates for the hypothe- 
sis which it is our object to confute, ""but you cannot therefore 
conclude that Moses was the author, for there is reason to believe 
that it was composed by Ezra.' Now, unfortunately for men of 
this persuasion, Elzra himself is evidence against them; for, in- 
stead of assi ming to himself the honour which they so liberally 
confer on him, he expressly ascribes the book of the law to Mo- 
ses; 'and they set the priests in their divisior s, and the Levites in 
their courses, for the service of God, which is in Jerusalem, as it 
is written in the book of Moses. ^X Further, the Pentateuch existed 
before the time of Ezra, for it is expressly mentioned during the 
captivity in Babylon by Daniel the prophet || b. c. 537 or 538. 

I firmly believe, that all the prophecies of Moses our master are true; and 
that he is the father of all the sages, whether they weut before or came after 
him. 

I firmly believe, that the law which we have now in our hands was given 
by Moses; Lamy's Apparatus Biblicus, vol. i. pp. 245, 246. 

*Stillingflcetls Origines Sacrae, lib. ii c. i. ^vi. vii. 

f Matt. V. 27. Mark x. 3. xii. 26. Luke x. 25. xxiv. 44. John vii. 19. 
viii. 5. Acts xxviii. 23. 1 Cor. ix. 9. 2 Cor. iii. 15. 

I Ezra vi. 18. See else Ezra iii. 1. and Nehemiah xiii. 1. The law of 
Moses, t'^e servant of God, is expressly mentjoned by Malacbi, the contem- 
porary of Ezra. See Mai. iv. 4. The learned Abbadie has shown at consid- 
erable leng-th that Ezra could not and did not forge the Pentateuch, and that 
it was extant long* before his time: but his arguments do not admit of abridg- 
ment. See his Traite de la Verite de la Religion Chretieone, torn. i. pp. 312 
-^330. (iCbap. ix. 11—13. 



AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 125 

Long before that event, it was extant in the time of J )siah* b. e. 
624, and was then of such acknowledged authority, that the per- 
usal of it occasioned an immediate reformation of the religious 
usages, which had not been observed according to the "word uf 
the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book."t It was ex- 
tant la the time of Hoshea, king of Israel, b. c 678, since a cap- 
tive Israelitish priest was sent back from Bab3'lon J to instruct the 
new colonists of Samaria in the religion which it teaches. By these 
Samaritans the book of the law was received as genuine, and was 
preserved and handed down to their posterity,! as it also was by 
the Jews, as the basis of the civil and religious institutions of both, 
nations. § It was extant in the time of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, 
B. c. 912,^ who employed public instructors for its promulgation. 
And, since the Pentateuch was received as the book of the law 
both by the ten tribes, and also by the two tribes, it follows as a 
necessary consequence, that they each received it, before they be- 
came divided into two kingdoms: for if it had been forged in a la- 
ter age among the Jews, the perpetual enmity that subsisted be- 
tween them and the Israelites, would have utterly prevented it 
from being adopted by the Samaritans; and had it been a spuri- 
ous production of the Samaritans, it would never have been recei- 
ved by the Jews. 'There remains, therefore, only one resource 
to those who contend that Moses was not the author, namely, that 
it was written in the period which elapsed between the age of 
Joshua and that of Solomon. But the whole Jewish history, from 
the time of their settlement in Canaan, to the building of the 
temple at Jerusalem, presupposes that the book of the law was 
written by Moses.' The whole of the temple service and wor- 
ship was regulated by Solomon, b. c. 1004, according to the- law 
contained in the Pentateuch: as the tabernacle service and wor- 
ship had previously been by David, b. c. 1042. Could Soiomou 
indeed have persuaded his subjects, that, for more than five hun- 
dred years, the worship and polity prescribed by the Pentateuch 
had been religiously observed by their ancestors, if it had not been 
observed? Could he have imposed updn them concerning the an- 
tiquity of the sabbath, of circumcision, and of their three great 
festivals ? In fact, it is morally inpossible that any forgery could 
have been executed by or in the time of Solomon. Moreover, that 
the Pentateuch was extant in the time of David is evident from 
the very numerous allusions made in his psalms to its contents^** 

* 2 Chron. xxxiv. 15. fS Chron. xxxiv. 21. J2 King's xvii. 26.i 
(|For a critical account of the Samaritan Pentateucb, see Home on the 
Scriptures, vol. If. pp. 12 — 14. 

i It is true that the ten tribes, as well as those of Judah and Benjamin, were 
addicted to idolatry; but it appears from 2 King-s iii. 2. x. 21 — 28. xvii. 28. 
and 2 Chron. xxxv. 18. that they considered the religion of Jehovah as the 
only true religion. V2 Chron. xvii. 9. 

** See particularly Psai. i. 2. xix. 7— ll.ixl. 7, 8. Ixxiv. 13— 15, Ixxvii. IS 



126 AUTHENTICITY 01 THE SCRIPTURES^ 

but it could not have been drawn up by him, since the law contained 
in the Pentateuch forbids many practices of which David was guil- 
ty. Samuel who judged Israel aJi)out the year b. c. 1100—1060 
could not have acquired the knowledge of Egypt which the Pen- 
tateuch implies j and Joshuat plainly describes some such book as al- 
ready extant in his time. Indeed, in the last cited book, there is 
one passage in particular, which clearly proves that the Pentateuch, 
or, as the Jews termed it, the 'Book of the Law,' existed in the 
time of Joshua: — "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that 
thou mayest observe to do all according to the law, which Moses 
my servant commanded thee, — this Book of the Law shall not de- 
part out of thy mouth." X The Pentateuch, therefore, can be at- 
tributed to Moses alone; and this indirect evideace from tradition 
is stronger than a more direct and positive ascription, which would 
have been the obvious resource of fraud. Nor would any writer 
posterwr to Moses, who w^as contriving a sanction for actual laws, 
have noticed the progressive variations of those institutes |1 as the 
composer of the Pentateuch has done.§ 

In addition to the native testimony of the Jews, which has been 
already stated, respecting the genuineness and authenticity of the 
Pentateuch, we have the undisputed testimony of the most distin- 
guished writers of pagan antiquity; which will have the greater 
weight, as they are generally prejudiced against the whole nation ot 
the Jews. 

Thus, Manetho, Eupolemus, Artapanus, Tacitus, Diodoru& 
Siculus, Strabo, Justin the abbreviator of Trogus, and Juvenaly 
besides many other antient writers, all testify that Moses was the 
leader of the Jews and the founder of their laws.^ The Egyp- 
tians, as Josephus asserts, esteemed him to be a wonderful and 
divine man: and were willing to have him thought a priest of their 
own, which certainly was a proof of their high opinion of him, 
though mixed with other fabulous relations.** The great critic, 
Xionginus, extolling those who represent the Deity as he really is, 
pure, great, and unmixed, tt testifies that thus did the legislator of 
the Jews who (says he) was no ordinary man, and, as he concei- 
ved, so he spoke worthily of the power of God. Numenius, the 
Pythagorean philosopher, of Apamea in Syria, called Moses a 
man most powerful in prayer to God, and said, "What is Plato 
but Moses speaking in the Attic dialect;"^: which sentiment, 
— 20. Ixxviii. 1 — 55. Ixxxi. 4—13. cv. throughout cvi. 1 — 39. cxxxv. 8 — 10 
cxxxvi. 10 — 20. and particularly the whole of Psal. cxix 

*viii. 31.. f Josh. i. 7,8. also xxiii. 6. | Lev. xvii. and Deut. xii. 5, 27. 

[| Bp. Marsh's Authenticity of the 5 Books of Moses vindicated, pp. 9-10. 

^ Bishop Newton has collected all the leading testimonies above noticed, 
concerning Moses, at length, in his Dessertation on Moses and his Writings. 
Works, vol i pp. 32—40. 

H Josephus contra Apion. lib. i. 31. 

■** Longinus de Suhlisuitate, § 9. p. 50. ed. 2da. Pcarce. 

If Nunaenius apud Clem, Alex^ndr. Stromata, lib. i. 22, p. 41. edit. Pot- 
ter. Eusebius, Preep. Jlvang. lib. ix. H et 8« 



AUTHENTICITY" OF THE SCRIPTURES. 1 gf 

whether just or not, is yet a proof of this philosopher's high opin- 
ion of Moses. 

Further, Porphyry, one of the most acute and learned enemiee of 
Christianity, admitted the genuineness of the Pentateuch, and ac- 
knowledged that Moses was prior to the Phoenician historian San- 
choniathon, who lived before the Trojan war. He even contended 
for the truth of Sanchoniathon's account of the Jews, from its co- 
incidence with the Mosaic history. Nor was the genuineness of 
the Pentateuch denied by any of the numerous writers against 
the Gospel during the first four centuries of the Christian aera, 
although the fathers constantly appealed to the history and pro- 
phecies of the Old Testament in support of the divine origin of 
the doctrine which they taught. The power of historical truth 
compelled the emperor Julian, whose favors to the Jews appears 
to have proceeded solely from his hostility to the Christians, to 
acknowledge that persons instructed by the Spirit of God once 
lived among the Israelites^ and to conifess that the books which 
bore the name of Moses were genuine, and that the facts they con- 
tained were worthy of credit. Even Mohammed maintained the 
inspiration of Moses, and revered the sanctity of the Jewish 
laws. Manetho, Berosus, and many others, give accounts con- 
firming and accordingvvith the Mosiac history.''^ 

On this part of the evidence tor the authenticity of the books of 
Moses, the testimonies cannot be expected to be so numerous or ex- 
press, as for the authenticity of the Gospel Histories? because few 
writings, sufficiently ancient, are in existence. Notwithstanding 
similar evidence, though not so full, can be adduced. It cannot 
be denied but that these books were extant among the captives, 
while they were at Babylon. This fact was notorious even to 
heathen opposers. Artaxerxes, in his decree, speaks of the law 
of God in the hand of Ezra* and Daniel, while in captivity, was 
provided with a written copy of the Law.t A copy of the Law 
was found at the repairing of the temple in the reign of Josiah,! 
and durinsi; the reign of Jehoshaphat, men were appointed to teach 
in the cities of Judah, who had the written law with them.|l In- 
deed from the beginning of the Jewish nation, the law was appoin- 
ted to be read at the end of every seven years, on the feast of taber- 
nacles, when all Israel came to appear before the Lord.§ Now on the 
supposition of the Law being written at a later date than the time 
of Moses, what fraud or artifice could have saved that man from 
detection and exposure to the punishment due to apostacy, who 
would have dared to introduce such a law or announce its first 
public readings, on the Great Sabbatical Yearl As the Sepivagmt 
version of the Pentateuch, translated near 300 years before Christ, 
is the proof of the existence and authority of the Mosiac History 
at that period, so the Samaritan Pentateuch, which we now have in 

*Ezra vii. 14. fDan. ix. 11— .13. :f 2 Kings xxii. 8 || 2 Chron. xvii. 
97-*-. ^Deut. xxxi. ^—11. TFSee Home on the Scriptures vol. J. p. 59. 



128 AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

our hands, is a demonstrative evidence, that the five books of Mo- 
ses were extant and esteemed authentic, before the Babylonian 
captivity, or at least before the formation of the Canon by Ezra: 
for the learned are decisive in pronouncing the Samaritan charac- 
ter to be the ancient Hebrew, which was supplanted by the Chaldee, 
during the captivity. Now the most rational supposition that can be 
adopted is, that the Pentateuch or five books of Moses, in the Sama- 
ritan, or ancient Hebrew character, is a true and authentic copy, 
preserved among the ten tribes: for as there has subsisted a fixed 
antipathy in the Jews against the Samaritans, since their first set- 
tlement, in the reisjn of Ahaz, about 700 years before Christ, there 
cannot be imagined any coincidence in fraud between the Jews 
and Samaritans, hence there can be no other date, to which these 
writings can be assigned, with reasonable probability, but to that 
ascribed to them by the great body of Jews and Christians. 

Josephus* has shown from concessions of Heathen writers, that 
the laws of Moses were written long before those of any Gentile 
nation. He observes "in ancient times the name of Law, was un- 
known, and even Homer wanted a word by which to express it* 
Herodotus says the Phenicians, who accompanied Cadmus, 
brought letters into Greece, which were formerly unknown to the 
Greeks, and Eupol emu's, quoted by Clemens of Alexandria and 
Eusebins, affirms, Moses was the first wise man who taught the 
Jews letters; and that the Phenicians received them from the 
Jews and the Greeks from the Phenicians: and Diodorus relates, 
that according to the ancient institution which took place in Egypt, 
tlie first who persuaded the people to use writtendaws, and live 
agreeably to them, was Moses. ''t 

To the assertion of Lord Bolingbroke that Ezra began, and Si- 
mon the Just, finished the received C:'non of the Hebrew Scrip- 
tures, there can be no great necessity" for reply, if his meaning be, 
that by them the Jewish Scriptures were collected into a volume; 
for they were perhaps as capable as any others for the undertaking. 
But we regard as the very desperados of credulity and infidelity, 
those who would teach or believe these books to have been forged 
by them. All the Jews who being carried captive to Bab^^lon at 
the destruction of the Temple, remained only fifty years in cap- 
tivity: consequently hundreds of tliem would return to witness 
the erection of the second temple, and the public readings of the 
law. And as many of them mij^ht have been twenty or thirty 
years of age at the destruction of the former temple, what notion 
could they have formed of their leaders, on the return from cap- 
tivity, had they dared to forge and impose books containing a code 
of laws never before heard or published.^ Truly of all credulity, 
that is the most weak and visionary, which raises its voice against 
the authenticity and genuineness of the Mosiac and Christian 
Histories. 

* Contra Apion, Lib. 2. f Jamieson's Disser. on the Pentateuch p. 80 



AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES* 129 

*'T() the proceeding; demonstration perhaps the following ohjec- 
tion will be made; *We will admit the force of vour arguments, 
and grant that Moses actually wrote a work called the Book of 
the Law: but how can we be certain that it was the very work 
which is now current under his name? And unless you can show 
this to be at least probable, your whole evidence is of no value.' 
To illustrate the force or weakness of this objection, let us apply 
it to some ancient Greek author, and see whether a classical schol- 
ar would allow it to be of weight. *lt is true that the Greek 
writers speak of Homer as an ancient and celebrated poet; it is 
true also that they have quoted from the works, which they ascribe 
to him, various passages that we find at present in the Iliad and 
Odyssey: yet still there is a possibility that the poems which were 
written by Homer, and those which we call the Iliad and Odys- 
sey, were totally distinct productions.' Now an advocate for 
Greek literature would reply to this objection, not with a serious 
answer, but with a smile of contempt, and he would think it be- 
neath his dignity to silence an opponent who appeared to be deaf 
to the clearest conviction. But still more may be said itt defence 
of Moses than in defence of Homer; for the writings of the latter 
were not deposited in any temple, or sacred archive^ in order to 
secure them from the devastations of time, whereas the copy of 
the book of the law, as written by Moses, was intrusted to the 
priests and the elders, preserved in the ark of the covenant, and 
read to the people every seventh year.* Sufficient care therefore 
was taken, not only for the preservation of the original record, 
but that no spurious production should be substituted in its stead. 
And that no spurious production ever has been substituted in the 
stead of the original composition of Moses, appears from the ev- 
idence both of the Greek Septuagint, and of the Samaritan Pen- 
tateuch. For as these agree with the Hebrew, except in some 
trifling variations,! to which every work is exposed by length of 
time, it is absolutely certain that the five books, which we now as- 
cribe to Moses, are one and the same work with that which was 
translated into Greek in the time of the Ptolemies, and, what is 
of still greater importance, with that which existed in the time of 

*And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests and sods of Le- 
vi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of 
Israel. And Moses commanded thera, saying-, At the end of every seven 
years, in the solemnity of the years of release", in the feast of tabernacles, when 
all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God, in the place which he 
shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel and in their hearing. 
And it came to pass when Moses had made an end of writing' the words of 
this law in a book, until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Le- 
vites which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book 
of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your 
God. Deut. xxxi. 9—11. 24—26. 

f See the collation of the Hebrew and Samaritan Pentateuch, in the sixth 
^^olume of the London Polyglott, p. 19. of the Animadversioues Samariticac; 

17 



130 AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

Solomon.* And as the Jews could have had no motive whatsoev- 
er, during the period which elapsed between the age of Joshua 
and that of Solomon, for substituting a spurious production instead 
of the original as written bj Moses^ and even bad they been in- 
clined to attempt the imposture, would have been prevented by 
the care which had been taken bj their lawgiver, we must conclude 
that our present Pentateuch is the identical work that was deliv- 
ered by Moses. 

4. But, besides the external evidence which has been produ- 
ced in favour of the books in question, equally convincing argu- 
ments may be drawn from their contents. The very mode of wri- 
ting, in the four last books, discovers an author contemporary 
with the events which he relates^ every description, both religious 
and political, is a proof that the writer was present at each res- 
pective scene; and the legislative and historical parts are so in- 
terwoven with each other, that neither of them could have been 
written by a man who lived in a later age. For instance, the fre- 
quent genealogies, which occur in the Pentateuch, torm a strong 
proof that it was composed by a writer of a very early date, and 
from original materials. *The genealogies t of the Jewish tribes 
were not mere arbitrary lists of names, in which the writer might 
insert as many fictitious ones as he pleased, retaining only some 
few more conspicuous names of existing families, to preserve an 
appearance of their being founded in reality; but they were a 
complete enumeration of all the original stocks, from some one of 
which every family in the Jewish nation derived its origin, and in 
which no name was to be inserted, whose descendants or heirs did 
not exist in possession of the property, which the original family 
had possessed at the first division of the promised land. The dis- 
tribution of property by tribes and families proves, that some such 
catalogues of families as we find in the Pentateuch must have ex- 
isted at the very first division of the country; these must have 
been carefully preserved, because the property of every family 
was unalienable, since, if sold, it was to return to the original 
family at each year of jubilee. The genealogies of the Penta- 
teuch, if they differed from this known and authentic register, 
would have been immediately rejected, and with them the whole 
work. They therefore impart to the entire history all the authen- 
ticity of such a public register; for surely it is not in the slightest 
degree probable, that the Pentateuch should ever have been recei- 
ved as the original record of the settlement and division of Judea, 
if so important a part of it as th^. register of the genealogies had 
been known to exist long before its publication, and to have been 
merely copied into it from pre-existing documents; 

^Again, we may make a similar observation on the geographical 

* See Waltrni Prole^om. xi. HI. 

f Vide Nurab. ch. i. ii. & iii. and especially ch, xxvi. and xxxir- 



. AUTHENXrCITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 131 

enumeration of places in the Pentateuch;* the accounts constant- 
ly given, of their deriving their names from particular events and 
particular persons; and on the details of marches and encamp- 
meuts which occur, first in the progress of that direct narrative, 
when only some few stations distinguished by remarkable facts 
are noticed, and afterwards at its close, v/here a regular list is 
given of all the stations of the Jewish camp. All this looks like 
reality; whenever the Pentateuch was published, it would have 
been immediately rejected, except the account it gives of the or- 
igin of these names, and of the series of these marches, had been, 
known to be true by the Jews in general, for the book states, 
that many of these names were adopted in consequence of the 
events, fi'om the very time they took place; and it also states, 
that the entire nation was engaged in these marches. Now, the 
memory of such circumstances as these cannot lorg exist without 
writing. If the Pentateuch was not what it pretends to be, the 
original detail of these circumstances, it could not have been re- 
ceived; for, if it was published long after the events, and there 
was no pre-existing document of these details, which it delivers 
as things well known, how could it be received as true.^ If it was 
copied from a known pre-existing document, how could it be re- 
ceived as being itself the original? Besides it is natural for the 
spectator of events to connect ever circumstance with the place 
where it happened. An inventor of fiction would not venture 
upon this, as it would facilitate the detection of his falsehood; a 
compiler long subsequent would not trouble himself with it, ex- 
cept in some remarkable cases. The very natural and artless 
manner in which all circumstances of this nature are introduced 
in the Pentateuch, increases the probability of its^eing the work 
of an eye-witness, who could introduce them with ease, while to 
any body else it would be extremely difficult and therefore unnat- 
ural; since it would render his work much more laborious, without 
making it more instructive. 

'All these things bespeak a writer present at the transactions, 
deeply interested in them, recording each object as it was sugges- 
ted to bis mind by facts, conscious he had such authority with the 
persons to whom he wrote, as to be secure of their attention, and, 
utterly indifferent as to style or ornament, and those various arts 
which are employed to fix attention and engage regard; v.'hich an 
artful forger would probably have employed, and a compiler of 
even a true history would not have judged beneath his attention. 't 

The frequent repetitions, too, which occur in the Pentateucb, 
and the neglect of order in delivering the precepts, are strong- 
proofs that it has come down to us precisely as it was written by 
Moses, at various times, and upon different occasions, during the 
I Vide Exod. xiv. 2. xv. 27. xvii. 7. And compare IN umbers, ch. xx. xxi, 
md xxxiii, xxxiv. xxxv.; also Deut. i. ii. iii. 
f Dr. Grave.s's Lectures on Pentateuch, vol. I. pp. 50—53. 



132 AUTHENTICITT OF THE SCRIPTURES. . 

long abode of the Israelites in the wilderness. Had the Penta- 
teuch been re-written by any later hand, there would in all prob- 
ability have been an appearance of greater exactness^ its con- 
tents would have been digested into better order, and would not 
have abounded with so many repetitions. To these considera- 
tions we may add, that no other person than Moses himself could 
write the Pentateuch; because, on comparing together the differ- 
ent books of which it is composed, there is an exact agreement in 
the different parts of the narrative, as well with each other as 
■with the different situations in which Moses, its supposed author, 
is placed. And this agreement discovers itself in coincidents so 
minute, so latent^ so indirect, and so evidently vndeaigned, that noth- 
ing, could have produced them but reality and truth, influencing 
the mind and directing the pen of the legislator.* 

'The account which is given in the book of Exodus of the con- 
duct of Pharaoh towards the children of Israel is such, as might 
be expected from a writer who was not only acquainted with the 
country at large, but had frequent access to the court of its sove- 
reign: and the minute geographical description of the passage 
through Arabi'i is such, as could have heen given only by a man 
like Moses, a ho had spent forty years in the land of Midian. 
The language itself is a proof of its high antiquity, which appears 
partly from the great simplicity of the style, and partly from the 
"Use of archaisms, or antiquated expressions, which in the days 
even of David and Solomon were obsolete. But the strongest ar- 
gument that can be produced to show that the Pentateuch was 
written by a man born and educated in Egypt, is the use of Egyp- 
tian words t which never were nor ever could have been used by a 
native of Palestine; and it is a remarkable circumstance, that the 
very same thing v^hich Moses had expressed by a word that is pure 
Egyptian, Isaiah, as might be expected from his birth and educa- 
tion, has expressed by a word that is purely Hebrew. 't 

With regard to the alledged marks of posterior interpolation, it 
must be acknowledged, that there are some such passages, but a 
few insertions can never prove the whole to be spurious. We 
have indeed abundant reason still to receive the rest as genuine: 
for no one ever denied the Iliad or Odyssey to be the works of 
Homer, because soiJie ancient critics and grammarians have asser- 
that a few verses are interpolations. 

The trite objection, drawn from the last chapter of Deuterono" 
my, where an account is given of the death of Moses, is of on 
ieiportance whatever, and is rejected as trivial even by those who 

* These coincidences are illustrated at a considerable length, and in a most 
masterly manner, bv Dr. Graves in his third and fourth lecteres (on the Pen- 
tateuch, vol. I. pp. 69 — 121.) to which we must reler the reader, as the argu- 
ment would be impaired b}^ abridg-ment. 

f See La Croze Lexicon Egy ptiacum, art. Achi and Thebi, and Authenti- 
city of the Five Books of Moses vindicated, pp. 11 — 14, See also Jahnjn- 
trod, ad Lect. Vet. Feed. pp. 204—209 



AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 13S 

com tend that the Pentateuch is spurious. The thirty- third chap- 
ter of Deuteronomy has evident marks of being the close of the 
work, as finished by Moses, and the thirty-fourth was added, ei- 
ther by Josliua or some other sacred writer, as asuppiiment to the 
whole, Bat there are names of cities mentioned in the Pentateuch, 
which naiiies were not given to those cities till after the death of 
M>ses. For instance a city which was originally called Laish, but 
changed its name to Dan, after the Israelites had conquered 
Palestine,* is yet denominated Dan in the book of Genesis.f The 
book itself therefore, it is said, must have been written after the 
Israelites had taken possession of the Holy Land. But is it not 
possible that Moses originally wrote Laish, and that, after the 
name of the city had been changed, some transcriber, for 
the sake of perspicuity, substituted the new for the old name? 
This might so easily have happened, that the solution is hardly to 
be disputed, in a case where the positive arguments in favor of the 
word in question are so very decisive. ''f 

How unfounded and weak are many objections of unbelievers 
to thft authenticity of the Pentateuch? **They have endeavored 
to prove their assertions by conjectures which have no solidity — 
granting all they say to be true, it would only follow, that it has 
happened to Moses's books as to the writings of all ancient au- 
thors: there have been added and changed words and names, to 
render the narrative more intelligible to those who lived in after 
ages. There are examples of such changes in Homer, Herodo- 
tus, and almost all ancient Historians, yet none reject their books 
on this account. 

What can be more rash than to deny a fact, established by for- 
mal passages of Scripture, by the authority of Jesus Christ, by 
the consent of all nations, and by the authentic testimonies of the 
most ancient w^riters? What can be more dangerous than to doubt 
the antiquity, and consequently ruin the authority of those books 
on which our religion is founded ?"ji 

We have therefore every possible evidence, that Hhe genuine 
text of the Pentateuch proceeded from the hands of Moses; and 
the various charges that have been brought against it amount to 
nothing more than this, that it has not descended to the present 
age without some few alterations ; a circumstance at which we 
ought not to be su' prised, when we reflect on the many thousands 
of transcrij ts that have been made from it in the course of three 
thousand years. ''§ 

* Judg. xviii. 2.2. f xiv. 4. 

I An example of the same kind is 'Hebron' (Gen. xiii. 18.) which before 
the conquest of Palestine was called Kirjath-Arba, as appears from Josh, xiv 
15. This example may be explained in the same manner as the proceeding-. 

II See Du Pm, Biblioth — Eccles. Disc, prelim. 

^ Bishop Marsh's Authenticity of the Five Books vindicated, p. 15. See 
also Carpzov. Introd. ad Libros Biblicos Vet Test. pp. 38--41. Molden- 
Uawer, Introd. ad Libros Canonicos Vet. et Nov. Test. pp. 16, 17. 



134 AUTHEATICITY O? THE SCRIPTURES. 

We will concludet his article in the animated words of an emin- 
ent French Author. 

'*1. The existence of Moses is a fact which cannot be seriously 
disputed. — Every people not originally of the land they inhabit 
supposes an emigration. Every emigration of an immense colo- 
ny, supposes a leader. Every Government founded on a body 

of laws supposes an ancient Legislator. And every religion 

supposes some extraordinary founder. Now it cannot be denied 
that the Hebrews were transplanted from their ancient country to 

Judea that their new establishment was a work of time, labor, 

wars, and even of prodigies I 

"2- The Legislator of the Jews was the author of the Penta- 
teuch, an immortal work, wherein he paints the marvels of his 
reign with the majestic picture of the Government and Religion 
which he established. Who before our modern infidels ever at- 
tempted to obscure the incontestible fact? What greater reasons 
have there ever been to ascribe to Mahommen the Koran, to Ho- 
mer his sublime poems, to Plato his republic? Rather let us say 
what work in any age ever appeared more truly to bear the name 
of its real author? It is not an ordinary book which like many 

others may he easily hazarded under a fictitious name. It is a 

sacred book, which the Jews always read with a sacred veneration, 
which still remains after seventeen hundred years captivity, exile, 
calamities, and reproach i In this book the Hebrews included all 
their sciences^ it was their civil, political, and sacred Code; their 
only Treasure, their Calendar, their Annals, the only title of their 
Sovereigns and Pontiffs, the alone rule of their policy and worship: 
and consequently, it must have been formed by their Monarch, 
and necessarily have the same epoch as their government and re- 
ligion. 

"3. Moses speaks the truth! though Infidels charge him with 
imposture.-— — Great God I What an impostor must he be, who 
first spoke of the Divinity, in a manner so sublime that no one 
since, during four thousand years, has been able to surpass him! 
— What an impostor must he be, whose writings breathe only 
virtue, whose style equally simple, affecting, and sublime in spite 
of the rudeness of those first ages, openly displays an inspiration 
almost Divine ! t" 

-'•^See Abbe Tome's Serraous. vol. IIL 



AUTHORITY OlF THE SCRIPTURES^. 

When I speak of the authority of the New Testament, I do it 
in a general manner and would not be understood to implj, that 
all the books are of equal authority, nor that every part of any 
one book, possesses equal claim to credibility. The authority of 
a book, however, ancient and authentic, must depend, in a great 
measure, on its own internal evidence, for no book, however es- 
teemed and sacred, can teach what is intuitively false, manifestly 
absurd, or self contradictory. After the same manner we judge 
of the particulars contained in an ancient book; for if a part con- 
tain either history or doctrine directly opposed lo the general scope 
of the whole, it clearly follows, that part cannot be included in 
the authentic original, and therefore must be a spurious interpola- 
tion or addition. On these just and safe principles, the Christian 
Church has always proceeded: first in rejecting the many spurious 
Gospels and Epistles of the first and second centuries, and the 
apocryphal books of later times. 

The question then at issue is, are these books a history of facts 
which actually transpired, in that time and place to which these 
writers assign them? Was there a person called Christ who made 
extraordinary pretentions to a divine commission, and in confirm- 
ation of these pretensions, wrought many miracles, and who, af- 
ter suffering persecutions and martyrdom, ascended from the 
grave as descisive demonstration of his innocence and divine ac- 
ceptance. 

That such a person as Christ is described in the Gospel History, 
appeared in Judea, in the reign of Tiberius, the Roman Emperor, 
whilst Pilate was Governor of Judea, no Jewish, Christian, or 
heathen writer, ever pretended to deny. On the contrary, there 
is a unanimous avowal of the fact, by all who have treated of the 
events of that period. Indeed the very attempt to represent the 
Great Founder of the Christian Religion, as a Mythological per- 
sonage, seems a degradation to the character and understanding 
of the desperado who dares to make the hazardous adventure. 

It would be absurd to suppose that a governor of a country 
should keep no public records of remarkable events which occur- 
red during his government: therefore we would naturally expect 
that some memorials of Christ's accusation and crucifixion would 
be preserved by Pilate; and such we find to be actually the fact, 
Eusebius * says; *'Our saviour's resurrection being much talked 
of throughout Palestine, Pilate gave information of it to the Em- 
peror, and also of his miracles of which he had heard; and that 
being raised up after his death, he was already, by many, believ- 
ed to ! e a god.'' Justin Martyr and Tertullian,both refer t(» pub- 
lic documents of the above nature, in their apolosjios for Christian- 
ity. Thus, Justin in his first apology for the Christians, present- 

=^ Kccles. Hist. L. 1. C. 2. f Anna). L. 15. C 44. 



13() AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

ed to the Ei^^peror Antonius Pius and the Roman Senate, about 
the year 140, have mentioned the crucifixion of Jesus and some of 
its attendant circumstances, adds: that those thinii;s v>ere dorie, 
you may know from the acts made in the time of Pontius Pilate; 
and in a subsequent part of the same apology, a similar appeal is 
made to these acts. Tertullian in his apology, about the year 200 
says: *'q/" all these things relating to Christ, Pilate himself^ sent an 
account to Tiberius then Emperor.'*^ He ifarther relates that Tiberi- 
us, on receiving the information sent him by Pilate, proposed to 
the Senate of Rome to have Christ enrolled among the number of 
their gods, but the Senate rejected the proposal. In the same 
apology, Tertullian says: ^"At the moment oj Christ^s death, the 
light departed from the Sun, and the land was darkened at the noon- 
day: ichich wonder is related in your own annals, and is preserved in 
your Archives to this day.''^ 

That such acts of Pilate then subsisted and vi^ere known to the 
Koman people, niu^t be admitfftd from the language used by these 
apologists; and the effrontery of these writers, if no such acts 
then existed, can only be equalled by that which now dares to call 
their sincerity in question: for who could make such appeals to the 
very persons possessing those public documents, if no such public 
acts ever had existed ! 

But the matter does not rest here: besides the well known tes- 
timony of Pliny, we possess that of Tacitus and Suetonius, the 
Roman Historians: and as in the estimation of unbelievers, any 
men are honest if they be not Christians, the evidence of Pagan 
writers of the first rank must receive approbation. Suetonius in 
his description of the reigns of Claudiife and Nero, tells us: 
"Claudius Cesar expelled Jews from Rome because they raised 
continual tumults at the instigation of Christ; apd that under Ne- 
ro, the Christians, a people addicted to a new superstition, were 
severely punished." Now as the persecution by Nero in the year 
65 was only about thirty years after the crucifixion, there could 
be no great time for mythological fancies to obtain credit. More- 
over Tacitus in his description of the Christians in Nero's reign, 
says: '"The author of that denomination was Christ, who in the 
reign of Tiberius, was punished with death, as a criminal, by the 
Procurator Pontius Pilate. ''t 

Pliny the younger, in his letters to Trojan thus describes the 
Christians: "They affirm that the whole of their fault or error lay 
in this, that they were wont to meet together, on a stated day, be- 
fore it was light, and sing, among themselves, a hymn to Christ 
as a god; and bind themselves by an oath, not to commit any 
wickedness. When these things were performed, it was their cus- 
tom to separate, and then to come together ag^ain to a meal, which 
they ate in common without any disorder." Such is the testimo- 
ny of Roman Historians and it is farther confirmed by Josephus.* 

• *^ee Jewish Antiquities book 18. chap. 3. scc^ 3. 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 137 

The Talmuds acknowledge the preaching, miracles and cruci- 
fixion of Jesus as may be seen by reference to Lardner's Jewish 

Testimonies, and Gregory Sharpe's defence of Christiansty. 

Lampridius in his life of the Emperor Alexander Severus in- 
forms us that the Emperor would have built a temple to Christ, 
had he not been strongly persuaded to the contrary, by his Pagan 
friends: and Porphyry, whose words have been preserved by Eu- 
sebius, speaks of him as a pious man, whose soul was taken into 
Heaven. Buth Celsus and Julian acknowledged that he wrought 
miracles; and Hierocles opposed to the miracles of Christ, those 
of Appollonius Tyaneus: and from Pliny v/e learn that in the 
reign of Trajan or beginning of the second century, the Christian 
faith had made such a progress, in several parts of the Roman 
Empire, that the temples of the gods were almost desolate. 

We must therefore admit as indisputable facts, that there was 
such a person as Jesus Christ, who founded a sect called by his 
name, and was crucified at Jerusalem, under Pontius Pilate: that his 
follov/ers greatly increased after his death, and endured the most 
severe persecution, on account of their adherence to his religion; 
for these facts are supported by the testimonies of disinterested 
witnesses, such as Josephus, Suetonius, Tacitus, and Pliny. We 
must equally admit, that the historical books of the New Testa- 
ment, which contain the life of Christ and history of the propaga- 
tion of his religion in the world, are authentic records; seeing 
they have always been so considered by ths friends and enemies of 
Christianity: this appears from the treatise of Celsus, an Epicu- 
rean Philosophy which he wrote against Christianity, and which 

was almost entirely transcribed by Origen, in his reply from 

that of Julian, a c«n&iderable part of which is preserved by Cyril, 

in his answer and also from that of Porphyry, large extracts 

from which were transcribed by Eusebius. These facts cannot be 
disputed, except on such principles as destroy ail human testimo 
ny, and invalidate the most certain records of ancient History. 
Moreover it appears unreasonable to admit the authenticity of the 
books of Homer, Virj>;il, Thucydides, and Tacitus, and deny that 
of the books of the New Testament, since the evidence in tiivor 
of the latter, is much greater than that which could ever be pro- 
duced for tke former. 

The existence of Jesus as the founder of the Christian Religion, 
and the authenticity of the Evangelical History as a book contain- 
ing a memoir of the life, character, and a-ctions of the author of 
our holy Religion, being admitted, we are prepared to pursue our 
argument for the credibility and authority of the evidences afford- 
ed by such data. 

The actions^ ascribed to Jesus Christ in the New Testament^ are of 
that description, that they could not have been recorded, if they had 
not been true. 
Independently of the miracles performed by Jesus Christ, (which 

18 



j-38 Authority of the scriptures. 

are fully investigated in a suteequent place) "his general con- 
duct as described by the Evangelists,, is that of a person surpass- 
ing both in wisdom and in goodn-ess the most perfect character, 
flKit was ever dravvii by Roman or bv Grecian eloquence. The 
character of our Saviour, as represented by the Evangelists, is 
not drawn in a formal manner, exhibiting at one view the various 
qualities, of which th.'it character is composed. The character of 
our Saviour must be learnt by comparing the facts, recorded of 
him, with the situations, in which he was placed and the circum- 
stances under which he acted. This comparison exhibits unsha- 
ken fortitude in the severest trials, calmness undisturbed by prov- 
ocation, kindness returned for injury, and dignity maintained in- 
violate through every action of his life. IS or is the wisdom and 
judgment displaced en every trying occasion less conspicuous in 
the character of < iir Saviour. At the same time we perceive the 
gradual unfolding ct a scheme for^the general welfare of man- 
kind, a scheme unifoim and consistent in all its parts, yet misun- 
derstood ci fni hy the Apostles th-emselves, as being opposed to 
(he general preju('ic«"s of the Jews. Facts of this description 
could not have bc-m invented by the Apostles. Plain and unlet- 
tered Jews, as the twelve Apostles Vv-ere, though adequate to the 
oflice of recording what they had seen and heard, were incapable 
of fabricating a series of actions which constitute the most exal- 
ted character that ever existed upon earth. If the learning and 
'he ingenuity of Plato or Xenophon might have enabled .them to 
draw a picture of Socrates more excellent than the original itself, 
it was not in the power of unlettertd Jews to give ideal perfection 
to a character, which was itself imperfect, and to sustain that ideal 
perfection, as in a dramatic representation, through a. series of 
imaginary events. Indeed it is highly probable, that the Apos- 
tles and Evangelists w^re nwt wholly aware of that perfection, 
wldch they themselves have described. For that perfection is not 
contained in any formal panegyric, expressive of the writer's opin- 
ion and indicating that opinion to the reader. It is known only 
by comparison and by inference. We are reduced therefore to 
this dilenjma. Either the actions, which are, ascribed to our Sav- 
iour, are truhj ascribed to him^ or actions have been invented for 
a purpose, of which the inventors themselves were probably not 
aware, and applied to that purpose by means, which-. the inventors 
did not possess. And when we further consider that the plan de- 
veloped by those facts-was in direct opposition to the notion of the 
Jews respecting a ten^poral Messiah, we must believe in what was 
wholly impossible, if we believe, that unlettered Jews could have 
inve.fted the:\).'* 

T'le charucter of Jesus is so unlike tlut of any other person in 
the whole Idstory of mankind, that the very fact demonstrates that 
there must have been an original to copy, and also that the disci- 

■■'■ Bp, Marsh's Lectures, part vi. pp. 71—73. ■ 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTUUE&. i 39 

pies must have written from memory and not imagination. In 
the discourses of Christ we discein a character much more pecul- 
iar than tliat of Socrates, in the writings of Plato and Zenophon, 
and also different from that of Moses, wiiich, Jews would proba- 
bly have imitated. Indeed the very pretensions of Jesus are suf- 
ficient to show there was something supernatural in his case. Be- 
fore him? there had been no prophet in Israel for several hundred 
years and it does not appear, tlmt the Jews expected any before 
the coming of the Messiah or his forerunner; and no Jew had ev- 
er entertained the idea of extending the peculiar kingdom of God 
to such as would not conform to the Mosi-ac institutions. How 
then could it have occurred to the mind of a Jew, especially one 
brought up in obscure life, to invert the established order of things, 
and by assuming more povv'er than any that had ever gone before 

• liim, acting and speaking in the name and by the authority of God 
change the institutions of Moses; and contrary to all the Jewish 
notions of a Messiah, abo-lish the peculiarities of their system, dis- 
appoint their expectations both civil and religious; and by adapt- 
ing his religion and kingdom to the circumstances of all nations, 
extend the benefits and priviliges thereof indiscriminately to all 
mankind. 

"When we consider the prevalence of the Christian religion at 
this time, the only credible account that can be given of its ori- 
gin, the fate of its founder and his associates, as attested both by 
heathen and Christian writers; and that v/e possess histor'es by 
some who were agents in the principal transactions, there can re- 
main no doubt but that a number of persons who appeared at that 
time, for the sake of propagating a miraculous story, voluntarily 
sustained great extremeties of ill usage and persecution. That 
the story, for which these persons exposed themselves to suiferins^s, 
was miraculous, clearly appears from the circumstances. That 
Jesus of Nazaretji rather than any othei' person should be select- 
ed as the Messiah, must have arisen from supernatural indications. 
There were no conquests, no revolutions, no surprising elevation 
of fortune, no achievements of valor or policy attached to his rep- 

Mitation. A Galilean j)easant was announced to the world as a di- 
vine lawgiver. A young man of mean condition, and private life, 
who had wrought no deliverance for the Jewish nation, is not with- 
sta.nding declared to be their Messiah. This claim was tt)o ab- 
surd to be imagined or credited without some supernatural proofs 
of his mission. Indeed there was nothing but the miracles attri- 
buted to him by which his pretensions could be maintained for a 
moment. .Every controversy, every question must presuppose 
these, and without citing the miraculous evidence there could 
have been no place f )r discussion at ail. Moreover tliat the ori- 
ginal story was miraculous, is fairly inferred from the same pow- 
ers being claimed by the Christians of succeeding ages. If the 
accounts of these miracles: bo true, they showed a continuation of 



140 AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

the same powers; if false, they were an imitation founded on the 
reality of Christs supernatural deeds. Now that the story con- 
tained in the present history of the Evangelists, is the same in 
substance, with that propagated by the eye witnesses of these Mi- 
raculous transactions, is manifest from these two facts: there nev- 
er was a single vestage of any other story, and all testimony, Jew- 
ish, heathen, and Christian combinedly bear witness to the ori- 
ginality and identity of the gospel history." 

When miracles are alleged in proof of the Divinitv of Christ's 
mission, unbelievers are ready to exclaim absurd, unnatural, and 
impossible! But the possibility of miracles must be admUted by 
ail that believe Jehovah's Omnipotence, and his sovereignty as 
Lord of the universe: and as God is already every where pres- 
ent, and continually supports and directs all the laws of nature, 
to chang*^ their course, implies no peculiar exertion. Nor can 
the admission of supernatural interposition imply any change in 
the purpose of the Deity, unless it can be proved, that he has de- 
creed not to interrupt those general laws which he has establish- 
ed. Though it be wise and necessary to establish general laws, 
yet the best systems of theology have always admitted the Divine 
agency: and, with respect to moral beings, it may become neces- 
sary for God to excite their attention to his presence and govern- 
ment, by occasionally deporting from general laws to impress 
thereby on their minds a just sense of their dependence on his 
power and providence. AVhen appearances are always constant, 
and uniform, they cease to attract attention, so that whole nations, 
ignorant of God, may pass their lives in view of all the wonders 
of creation, without ever raising their thoughts to the adorable 
author of universal nature. The more general the corruption of 
religion and, consequently, the more necessary a divine revelation, 
the less capable are men of perceiving the internal evidence of 
the nature and excellence of religion, and therefore they have the 
more need of external proofs, such as are afforded by miracles. 
Whereas, if the usual connexion of cause and effect be interrupt- 
ed and things happen contrary to all experience and expectation,, 
attention is immediately roused, and men will not rest satisfied,'*' 
without inquiring concerning both the eJBicient and final cause of 
so strange an appearance. 

No person can reasonably deny that miracles may be of such a 
nature, number, and continuance, as to yield sufficient attestation 
to the divine mission of the persons by whom they have been 
wrought; and also to the authority of those doctrines in confirma- 
tion of which they were wrought. Now such were the miracles 
performed by Christ and his Apostles; and they were, therefore, 
sufficient to prove to eye-witnesses, the divine origin of the doc- 
trines, in confirmation of which they were performed. These migh- 
ty deeds were done in so open a manner, and produced such ef- 
ect», that the beholders had full assurance of their reality; and be 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 14^ 

ing wrought for so benevolent a purpose, they readily recognised 
the Divine agency, and glorified God who had given such power 
unto men. They well knew, that nothing but some superhu- 
man invisible agent, could perform such actions, and seeing the 
end for which these miracles were performed, they delayed wot to 
ascribe them to the Supreme Ruler of the universe. Hence the 
miracles of Christ cannot be attributed to an evil agency, for most 
of them were performed, manifestly, for the most benevolent pur- 
poses, nor can the healirg ©f diseases be ascribed to the strength 
of the patient's imagination; for many of these patients were ab- 
sent at the time when these cures were performed. Ts either can 
it be denied, but that the account of these miracles and doctrines 
may have been transmitted to us, in such a manner as to forbid 
suspicion. To pretend that no such miracles were wrought, is 
utterly inconsistent with sober investigation: seeing there is no 
evidence against, and clear unbroken testimony in support of the 
affirmative. The evidence that the course of nature has been in- 
terrupted, is the same with that which must be adduced to prove that 
itiias not : human testimony being witness in both cases ; but on 
the one side the evidence is nothing, on the other we judge it com- 
plete. 

The various circumstances which concur to authenticate the 
miracles of Jesus, are worthy of particular regard : '*they were 
wrought by persons who made solemn appeals to God, and often 
said they would perform them. They were wrought in a pub- 
lic manner before enemies and unb^ievers, in a learned age and 
in civilized countries they were wrought not with any air of 
ostentation, or for the sake of worldly advantage, but in confirm- 
ation of precepts and doctrine agreeable to reason and highly ben- 
eficial to mankind.-^— They were wrought at a time when their 
enemies wanted neither power nor inclination to expose them, if 
they had been impostures: and were in no danger of being insul- 
ted by the populace, or persecuted by the magistrate for ridicul- 
ing the Christiaps and their religion. These miracles v.ere al- 
so numerous and various they were of a permanent nature, 

and might be re-examined. They had nothing fantastical or 

cruel, but were evidently acts of kindness and benevolence. 

Miracles having ceased a long time before Christ appeared, tliey 

were therefore calculated to excite the greater attention. They 

were foretold by the prophets were such as the Jews expected 

from their Messiah. They were attested by adequate and prop- 
er witnesses admitted by enemies and consequently were the 

means of converting vast multitudes of both Jews and Gentiles to 
the belief and reception of Jesus and his religion,"* 

**Having premised these observations, we offer the following al- 
ternative to the mind of every candid inquirer. The first Christ- 
* See Chapman's Eusobius, Jortin's "Remarks on Eclcsiastical History,'* 
and Compbell oa Miracles. 



142 AUTHORITY OF THE SCillPTUHES. 

ians either deliveied a sincere testimony; or they imposed a story 
upon me*i which they knew to be a fabrication. 

The persecutions to which the first Christians voluntarily expo- 
sed themselves, compel us to adopt the first part of the alternative. 
It is not to be conceived, that a man would resign fortune, and 
character, and life, in the assertion of what he knew to be a false- 
hood. *Th» first Christians, must have believed their story to be 
true; and it only remains to prove, that if they believed it to be 
true, it must be true indeed. 

A voluntary martyrdom must be looked upon as the highest pos- 
sible evidence which it is in the power of man to give of his sinceri- 
ty. The martyrdom of Socrates has never been questioned, as an 
undeniable proof of the sincere devotion of his mind to the prin- 
ciples of that philosophy for which he suiFered. The death of 
Archbishop Cranmer will be allowed by all to be a decisive evi- 
dence of his sincere rejection of what he conceived to be the er- 
rors of Popery, and his thorough conviction of the truth of the 
opposite system. When the council of Geneva burnt Servetus, 
210 one will question the sincerity of the latter's belief, however 
much he may question the truth of it. Now, in all these cases, 
the proof goes no farther than to establish the sincerity of the 
martyr's belief. It goes but a little way, indeed, in establishing 
the justness of it. This is a different question. A man may be 
mistaken, though he be sincere. His errors, if they are not seen* 
to be such, wall exercise all the influence and authority of truth 
over him. Martyrs have. bled on the opposites sides of the ques- 
tion. It is impossible, then, to rest on this circumstance as an 
argument for the truth of either system; but the argument is al- 
ways deemed incontrovertible, in as far as it goes to establish the 
sincerity of each of the parties, and that both died in the firm con- 
viction of the doctrines which they professed. 

Now, the martyrdom of the first Christians stands distinguish- 
ed from all other examples by this circumstance, that it not mere- 
ly proves the the sincerity of the niartyr's belief, but it also proves 
that what he believed was true. In other cases of martyrdom, 
the suflferer v/hen he lays down his life; gives his testimony to the 
truth of an opinion. In the case of the Christians, when they 
laid down their lives, they gave their testimony to the truth of 'a 
fact of which they affirmed themselves to be the eye and the ear 
witnesses. The sincerity of both testimonies is unquestionable; 
but it is only in the latter case that the truth of the testimo- 
ny follo^vs as a necessary consequence of its sincerity. An opin- 
ion comes under the cognizance of the understanding, ever liable, 
as we all know, to error and delusion. A fact come under the 
cognizance of the senses, which have ever been esteemed as infal- 
liable, vAien they give their testimony to such plain, and obvious, 
and palpable appearances, as those which make up the evangelic- 
al story. We are still at liberty to question the philosophy of 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 143 

Socrates, or the orthodoxy of Cranmer and Servetus; but if we 
were told by a Christian teacher, in the solemnity of his dying 
hour, and with the dreadful apparatus of martyrdom before him, 
that he saw Jusus after he had risen from the dead; that he con- 
versed with him many days; that he put his hand into the print 
of his sides; and, in the ardour of his joyful conviction, exclaim- 
ed, 'My Lord, and my God!" we siiouid feel that there was no 
truth in the world, did this language and this testimony decieve us. 

"Had Christianity been false, the reputation of its iirst teachers 
lay at the inercy of every individual among the numerous prose- 
lytes which they had gained to their system. It may not be com- 
petent for an unlettered peasant to detect the absurdity of a doc- 
trine; but he can at all times lift his testimony against a fact, said 
to have happened in his presence, and under the observation of 
his senses. Now it so happens, that in a number of the epistles, 
ther.e are allusions to, or express intimations of, the miracles that 
had been wrtmght in the different churches to which these epistles 
are addressed. How comes it, if it be all a fabrication, that it 
was never exposed? We know, that some of the disciples w^re 
driven, by the terrors of persecuting violence, to resign their pro- 
fession. How should it happen, that none of them ever attempt- 
ed to vindicate their apostary, by laying open the artifice and in- 
sincerity of their Christian teachers? We may be sure that such 
a testimony would have been highly acceptable to the existing au^ 
thorities of that period. The Jew^s would have made the most of 
it; and the vigilant and discerning olTicers of the Roman govern- 
ment would not have faifed to turn it to account. The mystery 
would have been exposed and laid open, and the curiosity of latter 
ages would have been satisfied as to the wonderful and unaccoun- 
table steps, by which a religion could make such head in the world, 
though it rested its whole authority on facts: the falsehood of 
which was accessible to all who were at the trouble to inquire 
about them. But no! We hear of no such testimony from the 
apostates of that period. W^e read of some, who, agonized at the 
reflection of their treachery, returned to their first profession, 
and expiated, by martyrdom, the guilt which they felt they had 
incurred by their dereliction of the truth. This furnishes a strong 
example of the power of conviction, and when we join with itv 
that is conviction in the integrity of those teachers who appealed 
to miracles which had been wrought among them, it appears to us 
a testimony in favour of our relisrion which is altogether irresisti- 
ble." 

Prophecy has been wisely connected with miracles for they ex- 
plain and strengthen each otiier; and Christianity has thereby a 
growing evidence, acquiring new force by every successive accom^ 
plishment, whilst the person to whom these propiiecies relate, is 
more particularly distinguished by the operation and concurring 
testimony of miracles. We admit that the force of evidence de- 



144 AUTHORITY or THE SORIPTUKES. 

rived from prophecy depends on the assurance that the prophecy 
was published before the event to which it relates was accomplish- 
ed and that the words by which the pre diction was made, were 
sufficiently intelligible and applicable to the event, so as to leave 
no just cause for doubting of its fulfilment. Now if the nature 
of the thing predicted, and the causes which lad to its accomplish- 
ment be sufficiently remote fronKhuman perception, and the event 
so clearly correspond with the prediction that the application is 
natural and reasonable, there is the greatest propriety in ascri- 
bing the whole to the prescience and power of God. If these 
events in the history of the New Testament, clearly correspond to 
predictions in the Old, as there could be no deceitful of coalescence 
between the Jews and Christians, there arises a reciprocal tesli- 
niony to the truth and divine authority of both the Jewish and 
Christian scriptures. 

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah until the Shiloh, Messiah 
or Branch, shall come and to him shall the gathering of the people be,^ 
-— ' — There shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign of 

the people; io it shall the Gentiles seek t It is a light thing thou 

shouldst be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob — / will also 
give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation 
■unto the ends of the earth, t 

These prophecies cannot be mistaken. At the birth of Christ, 
Judea was become a province of the Roman Empire, and almost 
immediately after the sceptre was totally, and I may say finally, 
wrested out of the hands of the Jews, But the perspicuity of the 
above prophecies, to the calling of the Gentile world, and the 
union of Jews and Gentiles, under the Christian Kingdom, is 
powerfully striking. It was utterly repugnant to Jewish pre- 
judice, and assumed prerogative to admit the Gentile world to 
equality of privilege it was beyond the power of human saga- 
city to forebode such an event. None but eternal wisdom could 
predict what infinite goodness had determined in relation to the 
destinies of mankind under the peaceful, universal empire of Je- 
hovah's anointed. Moreover Is. xi. 10. taken in connexion 
with Jer. xxiii. 5 and xxxiii. 14 distinctly fixes the lineage of 
Christ to the house and family of David from which our Lord sprang. 

Isaiah so minutely describes the humiliation and character of 
Christ, Ij throughout, that it is impossible to misapply the descrip- 
tion, for there has been no other person to whose history these 
predictions correspond. In the tenth verse of the fifty-third 
chapter, it is foretold that after the death of Christ, he should be 
raised to life again? behold a numerous and continually increasing 
offspring, rise as the reward of his sufferings and fidelity, and 
an ample source of satisfaction and joy for all his labors. Now 
as there never was a person to whom this description could J'pply 

*Gen. xllx. 10. M?. \l 10. tis. xlix. 6, liTsa. xxxif. 13—14. and 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTUREg. 145 

Ira t to Jesus of Nazareth, the accomplishment of the prophecy in 
feim is, in connexion with his innocent lifcj and miraculous deeds, 
decisive testimony that he was the sent of God and the Saviour of 
ehe world. 

After the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, the 
old men, who had seen Solomon's temple in all its glory, wept at 
the completion of the second temple, because it was so vastly in- 
ferior to the former; but Haggai consoled them with the promise^ 
that the Messiah should come to that temple and render it more 
glorious than that of Solomon. This prophecy, * fixes the time of 
Christ's coming before the destruction of the second teiTfpie^ which 
by the Romans under Vespasian, was levelled withthe ground. 

These are only a small selection of the Old Testament prophe- 
cies, which have been clearly fulfilled in the person of Christ* 
They therefore afford satisfactory proof of the divinity of his mis- 
sion, and consequently of the authority of our scriptures; and 
seeing they have been so manifestly fulfilled, they must hav« ori- 
ginated from God, and hence, they also prove the authority of the 
Jewish revelation. 

The rise and rapid progress of so remarkable a religion as the 
Christian, the circumstances in which it made its appearance^ the 
time and manner in which it was promulgated^ the invincible pa- 
tience and fortitude of the primitive Christians, their persever- 
ance in the profession of the gospel, notwithstanding the ridicule 
and severe persecutions to which they were exposed, both from 
Jews and Gentiles, and the readiness with which they submitted 
to martyrdom for their profession are insurmountable obstacles 
to infidelity and decisive proofs in favor of Christianity. In the 
gloomy midnight of moral darkness, Christianity like the sun of 
righteousness, arose refulgent with healing in its wihgs for an aw- 
fully disordered world, and afforded so seasonable aind efficient re- 
lief from the prevailing superstition and immoralities of mankind, 
as to induce a belief that it cam^ from the Father of lights, the 
givet" of every good and perfect gift. 

Christianity was published in the noblest period of philosophy 
and probably of science which the world had ever experienced. 
It v/as directly opposed to many tenets then supported by the 
ablest Piylosophers and evidently intended to overturn the hor- 
rors and impious opinions and practices of the Pagan world, as 
well as the ceremonial observances of the Jewish nation. It pro- 
claims in a high degree, a war of extermination against all the reli- 
gious systems, prejudices and rituals of the whole world. It was 
therefore the avowed enemy of both Jewish and Pagan rights and 
had the prejudices and education of all mankind to combat; yet 
unsupported by any worldly power, unpatronized by any Prince 
or Potentate, and unrecommended by any great name, it prosper- 
ed in the hands of a few fisher-men headed by a Carpenter^ and 

* Hag. ii. 4, 

19 



14^ JLUTHOllITT OF THE SftRIPTURESf. 

under all these disiidvantageous circumstances, triumphed over all 
the combined influence of Jewish and Pagan resistance, and ob- 
tained an everlasting name and victory in the annals of the civili- 
zed world. 

Supported by the evidence of supernatural interposition, and 
the extraordiflary gifts bestowed by Jesus after his resurrection on 
his disciples and followers, though propagated by the most unlike- 
ly instruments, destitute of all worldly advantages, and exposed 
to reproach and suffering, yet Christianity in that very age, made 
guch surprising progress as to obtain an establishment in the grea- 
ter part of the known world, which it retains to the present 
time, Nay: it still spreads and gains new advantages from inves- 
tigation, triumphing over all the sophistry and ingenuity of its op- 
posers. Such are its evidences, and to suppose such evidences on 
behalf of deceit and falsehood, involves the most palpable absur- 
clities. 

It supposes God would employ his prescience and power to af- 
ford testimony to an imposition by a series of illustrious prophe- 
cies and uncontrouled miracles, or that a system whose manifest 
tendency was to destroy vice, idolatry, and superstition, should 
be carried on and maintained by malevolent beings, contrary to 
their very nature and character. It is to suppose that persons of 
apparent great honesty and simplicity could act as the vilest ira- 
posters, aiid be so deceitful and impious as to carry on a series of 
consummate deception in the name of God, and at the hazard of all 
that was dear to them; and in manifest opposition to their onn 
worldly interest, persuade th3 nations to embrace a holy and hu- 
miliating institution. Or that they were most extraordinpry en- 
thusiasts, carried away by the heat of their own disordered ima- 
gination, to believe that for years the most strange and supert:at- 
ural events past before their eyes, when no such things ever hap- 
pened; and that they were enabled to perform the most wonderful 
works in the most open and {'ublic manner, though in reality all 
was a mental delusion, and they had never done any of those mir- 
acles which they had fancied themselves to perform- Finallv, 

it is to suppose that such enthusiasts, though mean, and contempt- 
ible, and illiterate, were capable of forming the noblest scheme of 
religion ever offered to mankind, and to obtain for it credii end 
influence, triumphed over all the wealth, power, learning, and el- 
oqueice in the world; overall the bigotry of prejudice, all the ar- 
tifice of paests, and all the authority of the magistrates; aid that 
all this was done by alleging a commission in the name of a per- 
son, lately crucified at Jerusalem, whom they declared, but with- 
out any proof, to have been raised by God from the dead, and ex- 
alted as Lord of the world. 

Now if Christ and his apostles were not the very weakest of en- 
thusi.iit<, thpy must have known whether they were ommissioned 
by God and posies»ed iu« ^ower of acting in hu name or w«re de- 



AUTHOTIITT OT THE SCRlPTtTRESw %if 

eeived. That virtuous men should pretend to act from God, whilst 
they knew they had no commission, cannot be admitted; hence it 
follows that if they were not gross enthusiasts they could not be 
under an illusion themselves, and being good men, showing the 
most genuine marks of unfeigned reverence for God and truth, 
they would not attempt to impose upon others. Had there been 
any fraud, nothing would have been more naturally expected than 
that the apostles and primitive christians would have exhibited 
their ambitious designs, or have endeavored to become lords and 
rulers over the rest of men, but on the contrary, there is not th« 
least appearance of assuming authority, they persist through lif« 
as brethren and fellow labourers in their allegiance to their cruci* 
fied Master, referring all their success and- mighty works to the 
influence of his power, in whose cause they had embarked, and t<i» 
whose name and religion they felt a ceaseless and uninterrupted 
devotion. 

The Apostles could not be deceived in the facts which they have re-- 
corded^ neither could they impose upon others, for being men of the 
strictest integrity and sincerity^ they appealed to notorious proofs and 
suffered every thing for the truth of their narrative. 

'' The Apostles could not be deceived in the facts which they have rC'? 
corded. This will appear from the following considerations s 
They were competent witnesses of the facts which they attested, 
and on which the Christian religion is founded. Their testimony- 
did not relate to certain abstract points, in forming a judgment of 
which thev might have been misled by the sophistry of others, or 
have erred through their own inadvertence and incapacityf nor to 
events which had happened before their birth, or in a distmt re- 
gion of the earth, concerning which, therefore, they might have 
rereived false information. It respected facts which they had 
witnessed with their eyes and with their ears. They had lived 
with Christ duriwg his ministry, they had heard his discourses^ and 
seen his wonderful works, and consequently received them on tht 
testimony of their own senses. They all had the same knowl- 
edge, and in the same decree, and they agree in the same assen* 
tial testimony. Now we may seek in vain for any thing of a sim- 
ilar nature in the whole universe. 

Moreover, they were not enthusiasts or fanatics. The character- 
istics of enthusiasm or fanaticism are, a blind credulity, in conse* 
cjuence of which its subject is lea to imagine himself always to be 
the favorite of Heaver, and actuated by divine inspirati«n; — dis* 
order and contradiction in the religious system proposed by the 
enthusiast; — and obscurity and absurdity in his exposition of it, 
accompanied with dictatorial positiveness, requiring an implicit 
credence of his pretensions, or at least on grounds as vain and de- 
lusive as those which have satisfied himself; — a morose, unsocial, 
and severe system of morality; — and contempt of all written rev 
elation. But none of these characterietice ie to bd traced ia the 



.i.4^ AUTHORITY OV THE SCBIPTURES- 

character of the writings of the apostles. They became the disci 
pies of Jesus Christ upon rational conviction, — not upon internal 
persuaj^ion alone, buttn the irrefragable evidence of clear and stu? 
penduous miracles, proofs submitted to their senses, and approved 
by their reason, which enthusiasm could not have counterfeited, 
and never ^ould have required; and at every step ef their prog- 
ress, as their faith was called to signalize itself by new exertions, 
or to sustain npw trials; it was fortified by new proofs. The 
slowness and caution with which the apostles received the fact of 
their Lord's resurrection from the dead, fully exempt them from 
all suspicion of being the dupes of delusion and credulity. 
Throughout their various writings, the utmost impartiality, sobri- 
ety, modesty, and humility prevail. In the most frank and art- 
less manner they do that which enthusiasts never do; they record 
their ovvn mistakes, follies, and faults, and those of very serious 
magnitude, acknowledged to be su^h by themselves, and severely 
censured by their master. No example of this nature can be found 
in the whole history of t^nthusiasm, and no other such example m 
the whole history of man. Enthusiasts also, in all their preaching 
and conversation on religious subjects, pour out with eagerness the 
dictates of passion and imagination; and never attempt to avail 
themselves of the facts or arguments, on which reason delights to 
rest. Strong pictures, vehement effusions of passion, violent ex- 
clamations, loudly vociferated and imperiously enjoined as objects 
of implicit faith and obedience, constitute the sum and substance 
of their addresses to mankind. They themselves believe, because 
they believe, and know because they know; their conviction, in- 
stead of being (as it ought to be) the result of evidence, is the re- 
sult of feeling merely. If any one attempt to persuade them that 
they are in an error, by reasoning, facts, and proofs, they regard 
him with a mixture of pity and contempt, for weakly opposing his 
twilight probabilities to their noon-day certainty, and for prepos- 
terously labouring to illumine the sun with a taper. How contra- 
ry is all this to the conduct of the apostles! When a proof of their 
mission or doctrine was required of them, they appealed instantly 
and invariably to arguments, facts, and nuracies, These convin- 
ced mankind then, and they produce the same conviction now. 
The lapse of more than seventeen centuries has detectid them in 
no error, and in no degree enfeebled their strength. Their discour- 
ses were then, and are now, the most noble, rational, and satis- 
factory discourses on moral and religious subjects, ever witnessed 
by mankind. There is not one single instance in them all, in 
which belief is demanded on any other grounds than these; and 
on these grounds it is always rightfully demanded: but on these 
grounds it is never demanded by enthusiasts. There is not in 
the world a stronger contrast to the preaching of enthusiasts, than 
that of Christ and his apostles. 

farther, the style of fanatics is always obscure, arrogant, and 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTUBES. i49 

violent. The style of the New Testament is the very reverse of 
this. The utmost harmony exists through every part of the sys- 
tem o[ religion inculcated by its authors. The historic jI books are 
plain, calm, and unexaggerated; detailing the facts that establish 
the unparalled perfection of their Divine Lord, with the particu- 
larity and consistency of truth. Some trifling discrepancies, it is 
true, are found in the collateral circumstances related by the his- 
torians of Jesus Christ, (and this is an evident proof that they did 
not copy one from another;) but in all es.=>ential matters they en- 
tirely and perfectly agree: and though scarce one among them had 
read, or could have read, the writings of the others, yet their his- 
tories and doctrines are perfectly accordant. And the episiles, 
though written at different and distant times, on various uccasions, 
from different places, and addressed to very different communi- 
ties, and persons, never contradict each other. On the contrarv, 
they are uniformly, in the highest degree natural, rationii!, and aY- 
fertionate, admirably adapted to the occasions which produced 
them, and the relations which their several writers bore to the 
various churches and persons whom they addressed; — instructing 
their ignorance, and encouraging their virtues, — rebuking their 
offences without bitterness, — vindicating their own character from 
calumny, without betraying any excessive resentment,- — and main- 
taining their own authority, as religious instructors and guides, 
without any trace of spiritual pride, any arrogant claims to full 
perfection of virtue. So far are they from inculcating a gloomy 
devotion, or a morose, unsocial, or selfish system of morality, that, 
while they insist on necessity of sincere, fervent, and heartfelt 
piety to God, without any affectation of rapturous ecstacy or ex- 
travagant fervour, — a piety, in sliort, chasten er^ and controlled by 
humility and discretion, — they at the same time inculcate the 
strictest equity and justice in our intercourse with our fellow men, 
together with the purest, most active, and most diffusive benevo- 
lence. While the just pre-eminence is allowed to internal sincer- 
ity, outward rites and observances have their due importance pre- 
served; every grace, and every virtue, that can form apart of the 
Christian character, has its just order and value assigned to it in 
the Christian scheme; every civil, relative, and social duty is 
•taught in the clearest manner, and enforced by the strongest mo- 
tives. So far are the authors of the New Testament from contem- 
nipg all written revelation, that in their writings they uniformly 
evince the greatest reverence for the written revelation of the Old 
Testament, which they exhort their disciples to study diligently,* 
and point out its friendly harmony with the Christian system. t 
And though they insist on the necessity of receiving and believ- 
ign that system,! yet they equally condemn all spirit of persecu- 

*2 Tim. ii. 14—17. 2 Pet. i. 19, 20. 

r Act", ii. 14—36. xiii. 15—41. Rom, ir, 10. 19-21, &c, 

X Acts, iv, 12 Rora. iii. 20-^26. 



150 AUTBORITT OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

tion,* and re]ig;ious indifterence.t Neither did they deceive orimpose 
upon others. The vvhole tenor of their lives demonstrated, and even 
their adversaries confessed that they were men of piety and in- 
tegrity. They never would have pretended to persuade (nor could 
they have succeeded in persuading) their countrymen and contem- 
poraries, that a man, whose death was public and notorious, was 
risen again, — that darkness had covered the land at the time of 
his execution, — -^nd that theie had been an earthquake at the mo- 
ment of his decease, — if these events had not t'^ken place. Be- 
sides, when it is recollected that the writers in question were men 
who had not received a learned education, and who were also of a 
very humble class in society, it is utterly improbable that they 
could pretend to speak foreign languages and upbraid an entire 
and numerous society with making a bad use of the same extraor- 
dinary gift, if that society had not received it.J Such pretensions, 
if false, could never have been admitted; and it were absurd, not 
to say impossible, that so many men should conspire to propagate 
a falsehood, especially at a time when even attendance on the min- 
isters of Christ, much more the profession of faith, exposed them 
to the severest persecution and most imminent danger of their lives. 
Moreover, it rarely happens that any one will propagate a deliber- 
ate falsehood without having some advantage in view, either im- 
mediate or remote. Now the first teachers of Christianity could 
have no prospect whatever of any advantage. They could ex- 
pect none from him in whom they professed to believe. Jesus 
Christ, indeed, had warned them to expect persecution, ignominy, 
and dc'ath in this world, if they continued to be his disciples. 
They could not therefore aspire to honours or emoluments, for the 
distribution of these was in the hands of Jews and Heathens, who 
reviled and persecuted them with unrelenting severity. Still le^s 
could they expect to acquire wealth, for their profession of the 
Christian faith subjected them to the loss of all things. According 
to their own principles, either as Jews or Christians, they involv- 
ed themselves in great misery, if they deliberately persevered 
in propagating falsehoods. Further, if the Evangelists and apos- 
tles had confederated to impose upon mankind, it is incredible that 
none of their associates should not hwe confessed the fraud be- 
fore the tribunals. It is equally incredible that so many precepts 
of piety and virtue should have been delivered by men of sucb 

'^•Bom. xiv. 3—23. 

f Dr. Graves's Essay on the Character of the Aoostles, to prove tbat ^^ey 
were not enthusiasts, passim; Dr. Less on the Authenticity, &,c. of the Ji 'W 
Testament, pp. 280 — 299: by both of whom the topics above glanced at arc 
fully and ablj illustrated. Lord Lyttleton has also applied similar considera- 
tions to the conversion of Saint Paul, which he has shown to be an irrefragi- 
ble argument for the truth of the Christian religion. See his "Observations 
on the Convertion of Saint Paul," — an inestimable little treatise, to whicfe 
scepticism could never frame a repi). 

t As Saint Paul upbraied tbe church at Corinth. ^ge« 1 Cor. xiv. 



AUTHORITY OF THE SORIPTUREft. 151 

abandoned principles^ as they must have been if they had been 
imposters; and it is stilt H«ofe incredible that they should have 
been willing to die for the cause of Christ, who, if he had not ris- 
en again from the dead: would have miserably deceived them. 
Still less is to be credited that they performed miracles (the reali- 
ty of which was acknowledged by their enemies) in confirmatioa 
of their doctrine. Lastly, if the apostles and evangelists had de- 
signed to impose upon mankind, they would have accommodated 
themselves to the humours of the people whom they addressed; 
they wuuldhave indulged their passions, and would carefully have 
avoided saying or doing any thing that might shock or oifend them. 
Nothing of the kind was done by the apostles. They did not ac- 
commodate themselves to the dispositions of mankind; they boldly 
impugned the traditions of the Jews, and the religion of the Gen- 
tiles; nor would they suffer the law to be confounded with tV 
Gospel, or the Mosiac ceremonies to be retained. They spared 
not the corruptions that prevailed in their time; they sought not 
to clothe their discourses or writings in the attractive garb of hu- 
man eloquence, nor did they gratify the passions of their hearers. 
Would persons, deliberately confederating to impose upon the 
world, have pursued a conduct so little calculated to secure suc- 
cess to their designs? And as the evangelical historians were 
neither deceived nor imposed upon themselves, nor did deceive or 
impose upon others, so neither could they have successfully carri- 
ed on such deceit or imposition, if they had been ever so much 
disposed or desirous to do it. For, as we have already had occa- 
sion incidentally to remark, the facts recorded by them were pub- 
lic facts. Ti^ey were nol done in a corner, but performed openly; 
and were openly related bef re all mankind. They were de- 
clared, not merely to the ignorant and illiterate, but to men of 
learning, leisure, sagacity, and power. Thousands could examine 
the truth of their story, and were under obligations to examine itj 
and if it had been false, to refute it. The importance and strange- 
ness of the subjects thus announced would naturally excite curi- 
osity; and on this account it would certainly be examined bj 
multitudes. If the i»eport of the apostles and evangelists had 
not been true, it would have been the most ridiculous that can be 
imagined. If it were true, it was the most important that ever 
s uncled in the ears of mortals. He must therefore be a strange 
man indeed, who could hear such things reported and repeatedly 
asserted (in whatever light he might consider them,) without in 
ypstigating the truth of them, the grounds on which the report was 
made, and the evidence on which it was confirmed. So far, how- 
ever, were the apostles from being either deceived themselves or 
deceivers of others, that they were men of the strictest integrity and 
nTKxr'ty, 

This is evident from the style and manner of their writings, 
which are characterised by the most rigid impartiality and fideii- 



15^ AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURESo 

ty. Thej were not ambitious of being known to the world b}' 
their writings, but onlj as they were induced by necessity, for the 
further propagation of the Gospel. * There is no preparation of 
events^ there are no artful transitions or connexions; no set char- 
acters of persons to be introduced; no reflections on past actions 
or on the authors of them: no excuses or apologies for such things, 
as a writer might probably foresee would shock and disturb his 
readers; no specious artifices^ no plausible arguments to set oft' a 
doubtful action, and reconcile it to some other, or to the character 
of the person that did it« In short, it does not appear that it ev- 
er entered the minds of these writers, to consider how this or the 
other action would appear to mankind, or what objections might 
be raised against it. But without at all attending to such a con- 
sideration, they lay the facts before the world, at no pains to think 
whether they will appear credible or not. If the reader w^ill not 
credit their testimony, there is no help for it: they tell the 
truth and nothing else* Greater marks of sincerity than these it 
is imposible to find in any historical compositions that are extantf 
and they show that they published nothing to the world but what 
they believed themselves. They never attempt to astonish their 
readers, but uniformly endeavour to enlighten and convince them: 
regardless of themselves, they seem engrossed by the great truths, 
which they were commissioned to promulgate. They do not dis- 
semble certain circumstances in the life and sufferings of their 
master, which have no tendency to enhance his glory in the eyes 
of the world; such are the low circumstances of his parents, — the 
mean accommodations of his birth, — -that when he appeared pub- 
licly to the world, his townsmen and near relations dispised and 
rejected bim^ — that few among his followers were men conspicu- 
ous for wealth, dignity, or knowledge, — that the rulers, the 
scribes and pharises, disowned his pretensions and opposed him 
continually, — that some who for a time followed him, afterwards 
deserted him, — that he was betrayed into the hands of the high 
priests and rulers by one of those who had been selected for hi& 
constant companions, — and that he was crucified in the most ig- 
nominious manner with two malefactors. Had they been silent 
concerning such events, their adversaries assuredly could never 
have discovered them, nor, consequently, have taken any advan- 
tage of them. They have, however, not failed to relate them 
with all their minutest circumstances. Impostors would certainly 
have acted differently. They would either have kept b?ick such 
facts as appear so disrespectful to their leader; or they would have 
endeavoured to assign some cause, in order to obviate any bad im- 
pression^ that might arise from them. They would enter into a 
laboured detail of the intellectual endowments or moral excel- 
lencies of their m;^ster. But the evangelists do no such thing. 
They utter no lofty panegyrics; they pronounce no eloquent en- 
^Eusebius, Hist. Eccies. L. iii. C. 23. 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 15$ 

iomiums. They depart from the common line of historians, and 
give an artless narrative of every circumstance, however appa- 
rently unfavorable to their master, leaving truth to support itself. 

Again, when they relate any of the miracles of Jesus Christ, 
they announce them with the same dispassionate coolness as if 
they had been common transactions; ssLying nothing previously to 
raise expectation, nov, after the recital of them, breaking out into 
exclamations, but they always leave the reader to draw his own 
conclusion. Does he confound and triumph over his enemies? 
We see no symptoms of exultations. Is he in the lowest distress? 
On their parts we can collect no tokens of fear, or grief, or indig- 
nation. Do they record his giving sight to the blind, restoring 
the lame, feeding many thousands with a i^w loaves and fishes, 
calming the raging sea, and even raising the dead? They seem 
perfectly calm and unconcerned. Do they narrate his resurrec- 
tion and ascension? They afford no explanation of any difficult 
ties; they never offer a single argument to enforce their creditj 
they leave the bare facts with their readers, who may receive of 
reject them as they please. In perusing the simple and unadorn- 
ed narratives of the Evangelists, it is impossible not to feel that 
the purport of their writings was to bear witness of the truth. 

All histories written by authors of equal credit,, agree in the 
main, but differ in tilings of less importance: at least there will 
be a variety in their manner of relating the same event and this 
variety shows tbem to be independent witnesses. Their attentioa 
will have been arrested principally by the facts of greatest conse- 
quence, and their agreement will therefore be greater in the im» 
]iortant parts of the narrative than in those of comparatively lit- 
tle value: thus we find the histories of the Evangelists, harmonize 
in the essential facts, precepts and doctrines, but in non-essen- 
tials there appears considerable variety. Now as the Evangelists 
agree in all the principal facts, though their histories be arranged 
in a different order, and differ considerably in trivial matters, it 
follows that they wr6>te from memory, and not in concert. Eack 
appears to have written what struck him the most forcibly, aad 
what seemed the most proper to make us acquainted with the char- 
acter aad doctrines of Jesus Christ. They are only careful to 
give them upon the best authority, either from their own personal 
knowledge, or as they had them from those, who from the begin- 
ning were eye witnesses and ministers of the word. Like honest 
and faithful historians, they are concerned about nothing but the 
truth. In their histories, you meet with just such accounts as jovl 
may naturally expect from different observers of the same fact. 
No two men of equal capacity and attention, ever yet related the 
same fact precisely in the same manner and words. Without the 
smallest prejudice or partiality, and with the strictest regard to 
truth, they will give you the circumstances of the same action with 
considerable difference. 

90 



154 AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

The inferences, then, that we have a right to draw from this ap- 
parent honesty and impartiality of the sacred historians are. First, 
that the Gospel bears all the marks of a true history, and' that the 
ditFerences and trifling disagreements among the historians, are a 
strong evidence of the truth of the whole. It is much more like- 
ly to be true, than if the whole had been transmitted to us by a 
single writer of the greatest ability. Though we meet with dif- 
ferences and difficulties in the relation of some material facts, yet 
none of these difficulties effect the main cause, or the leading 
principles of our religion. We are left in the full possession of 
all these. They ail agree that Jesus Christ was upon this earth, 
that he was a divine teacher, and a great example, that he died 
und rose again. On the contrary hac! they been all uniform ia 
their narration, we should have had good cause to suspect fraud 
and collusion. Had they in relation of each particular sermon, pray- 
er, and great work, expressed themselves in the very same words, 
would not unbelievers have found good cause to allege, Hhese men 
are no more but copyists of one another, a company of men under 
the pretended direction of the spirit of truth, imposing a most 
impudent fraud on the world.' 

These differences bear all the marks of candour, of honesty, 
and integrity. We know from them, that Jesus Christ was on this 
earth, that he wrought great works, that he delivered remarkable 
prophecies, that he died and rose again, that his disciples, imme- 
diately after his resurrection, with firmness embraced his cause; and 
in obedience to his last commands, went out and baptized all na- 
tions. We know, in short that he brought life and immortality to 
light, and placed our hopes upon the best foundation. Let the 
ie?irned, then, settle lesser differences, and let cavillers dispute 
about dartv expressions and darker tenets, we will hold fast by the 
main pillars; and if the world itself should sink, these will sup- 
port us; this is our joy and rejoicing: in the strength of this, let us 
march onward towards heaven." 

There is no subject in which the triumph of the Christian argu- 
ment is more conspicuons than the moral qualifications which give 
credit to the testimony of its witnesses. We have every possi- 
ble evidence that there could be neither mistake nor falsehood in 
their testimony; a much greater evidenctj than can actually be 
produced to establish the credibility of any other historian. Bring 
for example, Tacitus and the New Test'iment to an immediate 
comparison, subject them both to the touchstone o£ ordinary and 
received principles, and it will be found that the latter leaves the 
fornier out of sight, in all the marks and characters of authentic 
History. The evidence of the Gospel history stands exalted- 
above that of every other volume in the concurrence of its numer 
ous, distant, and independent authors^ — in the uncontradicted au- 
thority which it has maintained from the earliest times of the 
church — in the total inability of its bitterest adversaries to im- 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 155 

peach its credibility — in the genuine characters of honesty and 
fairness which it carries on the very face of it; in these and in 
every other thing that can give validity to the written history of 
past times, there is a weight and splendor of evidence unparallell- 
ed by that of any other production in the world. 

'*Since the accounts the Evangelists have given us in their wri- 
tings tire things which they say and heard themselves or had 
from those who did so, since they lived in the time and place, 
when and where, the things of which they write, were publicly 
transacted, their writings deserve greater credit than any other wri- 
tings whatever. For how few of those things, related by other 
historians, are such as they themselves, being present, saw? — Tis 
needless to mention, Herodotus, Diodorus Sicuius, Livy, Sueto- 
nius, Curtius, and other historians, who have given us an account 
of the Assyrian or Persian, the Greek or Roman affairs; and 
who have written of things that were done many ages before they 
were born, and in such parts of the world as were very remote 
from their own habitations. I shall only instance in one writer, 
and that is Cornelius Tacitus, in that part of his history, where 
he gives an account of the destruction of Jerusalem, and takes oc- 
casion to tell us the whale story of the city and the Jewish people 
from their first beginning. Tis scarce credible, how many ground- 
less and childish tales, what stupid and evidently false accounts 
that celebrated historian has heaped together, and which he might 
easily have known to be such- — even in Rome itself where he lived, 
from the number of Jews of all ranks who resorted thither, and 
especially from the history of Josephus, which at the Emperor's 
command, had been deposited in the public library.'' 

If, from the consideration of the narratives of the evangelical 
historians concerning their master, we proceed to whatever is re- 
corded concerning themselves, we shall find the same integrity 
and fidelity every where prevail. When Cicero had offended 
against the capital law of his moral code^ — that which enjoined the 
love of his country — first, by his backwardness to join the camp 
of Pompey, and afterwards by his prompt submission to the tyran- 
ny of Caesar, what was the conduct of that illustrious Roman on 
this pressing occasion? Did he frankly condemn those false steps^ 
or did he content himself with the simple relation of them? He 
did neither of these things. He softened and disguised the truth; 
and employed all his wit and eloquence to palliate this inglorious 
desertion of principle to himself and others. What a striking con* 
trast is this to the ingenuousness of the evangelical writers f 
They study no arts of evasion or concealment. They honestly 
acknowledge not only the lowness of their station, but also the 
meanness of their original employments, the ind'gence of their 
circumstances, the inveteracy of their national prejudices, the 
slowness of their apprehension under so excellent a teacher, the 
weakness of their faith, the ambition of some of the disciples, the 



156 AUTHOBITY OP THE SCRIPTUREa. 

intolerant temper of others, and the worldly views of all. They 
even tell us of their cowardice in deserting their master when he 
was seized by his enemies, and that after his crucifixion they all 
resumed their secular employments — for ever resigning those hopes 
which they so fondly cherished, and abandoning the cause in which 
they had been so long engaged 5 notwithstanding all the proofs that 
had been exhibited, and the conviction which they had before en» 
tertained, that Jesus was the Messiah, and that his religion was 
from God. They mention, with many affecting circumstances, 
the incredulity of one of their associates, who was not convinced 
of the reality of their Lord's resurrection but by occular and sen- 
sible demonstration. They might have concealed their own faults 
and follies from the world; or, if they had chosen to mention 
them, they might have alleged plausible reasons to soften and ex- 
tenuate themf But they did no such thing: they related, without 
disguise, events and facts just as they happened, and left them to 
speak for themselves. In like manner, when recording the exer- 
cise of the miraculous powers with which they were endowed, they 
relate those astonishing facts, without any ornaments of language, 
in the most concise and simple manner. They do nothing, they 
assume nothing, in their own character. In short, they speak with 
such certainty, with so much self-conviction, and with such confi- 
dence in the truth of their history, that assuredly v/e can no longer 
depend on any historian whatever, if we entertain the least doubt 
concerning the integrity of the writers of the l^ew Testament. 
And if we compare their merits as historians with that of other 
writers, we shall be convinced that they are inferior to none who 
ever wrote, with regard to knowledge of persons, acquaintance 
with facts, candour of mind, or reverence of truth.* 

Lastly, in the epistles of the apostles which have been trans- 
mitted to us, there are preserved memorials of many particulars 
which are not very honorable to the first converts to Christianity. 
Such are the readiness of the churches of Galatia to depart from 
the purity and simplicity of the Gospel; — the scandalous disorders 
of the church of Corinth in some solemn parts of their worship; 
the contentions among them in behalf of their teachers; the pre- 
posterous use of the gift of tongues, proceeding from vanity and 
ostentation; and the unaccountable conceits of others, who depen- 
ded upon an empty faith without works, and speculative knowl- 
edge without a suitable holy practice, referred to in the epistles 
of .Tames and John. Upon the whole, it is most evident from the 
facts that were disadvantageous to Christ himself, to the writers 
themselves, and also to the first Christians, that those persons from 
whom we have received these accounts had a particular regard 
to truth, and preferred its interest to all selfish considerations. 

* Bonnet, CEuvres, torn. x. pp. 498 — 501. Dr. Hales's Analysis of Chro« 
nologj, vol. ii. p. 693, Dr. Harwood's Intro, to the New Test. vol. i. p. 6— IC 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCB.IPTURE3. 157 

Moreover they appealed to notorious and incontrovertible proof s. 

Whatever internal marks of credibility the evangelical writings 
possess (and which could not but carry conviction to those to vvhoin 
they w^ere addressed,) their authors confirm the veracity of their 
statements by an appeal to the miracles wrought by themselves, 
and to the extraordinary gifts conferred by them uponmany other 
persons. This is evident from their epistles, which were written 
and directed to those who had beheld those miracles, and had par- 
ticipated in those gifts, and which also contain reproofs for the 
mismanagement of such gifts, and various directions respecting the 
better use and employment of them.* If these persons had not 
received such gifts, would this mode of writing and arguing have 
recommended the persons or doctrines of the apostles to them, 
who were declining from both? Would they not have contradict- 
ed the apostles, as asserting deliberate falsehoods? But this was 
never attempted. 'Nothing in the situation of the New Testament 
writers, leads us to perceive that they had any possible induce 
ment for publishing a falsehood. 

We have not to allege the mere testimony of the Christian wri- 
ters, for the danger to which the profession of Christianity expo- 
sed all its adherents at that period. We have the testimony of 
Tacitus to this effect. We have innumerable allusions, or expresg 
intimations, of the same circumstances in the Roman historians. 
The treatment and persecution of the Christians makes a princi- 
pal figure in the affairs of the empire; and there is no point better 
established in ancient history, than that the bare circumstance of 
being a Christian, brought many to the punishment of death and 
exposed all to the danger of a suffering, the most appalling and re- 
pulsive to the feelings of our nature." 

The credibility of the Old and New Testament is further attested by 
the principal facts, contained in them^ being confirmed by certain coni' 
memorative ordinances, or monuments of great celebrity, that existed 
among the Jews and Christians from the time when the events took place, 
which they are said to commemorate, andivhich ordinances or monuments 
subsist to the 'present day, wherever Jews or Christians are to be found, 

Cbcumcisioa is the seal of the covenant with Abraham, the great 
progenitor of the Jews, on all whose posterity it was enjoined. 
This rite was adopted by theEo:yptians, Colchians, the Ethiopeans 
of Africa, the Phaenicians, and one or two other ancient nations; 
but though its high antiquity ascended beyond the records of the 
pagans, no particular reason was assigned for it, except that some 
professed their adherence to it for the sake of cleanliness. Now 
it is this precise want of reason which constitutes the grand dif- 
ference between the circumcision of the Gentiles and that of the 
Israelites. In the case of the Gentiles it proved no one histor- 

*See 1 Cor. i. 4. 5, v. 3—5. xii. xiii. 8. xiv. 1—33. 2 Cor. xii. 7—11. 
Gal. iii. b, 1 Thes. i. 5. 






158 AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

ical fact: in the case of the Israelites, it proved the important his* 
torical fact that Abraham was commanded to adopt the rite, and to 
hand it down to his posterity, as a badge of their being, in certain 
chosen lines, the peculiar people of Jehovah. This fact, which 
is a vital one in the Mosaic history, it decidedly and incontrover- 
tibly establishes. For though the Israelites, like any other nation, 
might have simply adopted the rite of circumcision, yet they could 
not have adopted it as a commemorative ordinance, professing to 
commence from the time when the commemorated fact occurred, 
unless that the fact really had occurred. The reason is obvious. 
If the belief, associated with the rite, had commenced at any giv- 
en point of time subsequent to the adoption of the rite itself, the 
persons, who first embraced the belief must unaccountably have 
suffered themselves to be persuaded, not only that such was the 
origin of the rite, but that they and their fathers before them, 
from the very time of its primeval institution, always knew and 
believed that such was its origin.* 

The Passover was instituted to commemorate the protection of 
the Israelites, when all the first-born of the Egyptians were de- 
stroyed, and their deliverance from bondage in Egypt, which was 
its immediate consequence. To this was added the solemn conse- 
cration of the first-born of man and beast to God; and, in further 
commemoration of the destruction of the first-born of the Egyp- 
tians, the tribe of Levi was set apart. The month in which this 
feast was solemnised, from being the seventh, was reckoned as the 
first month of the year, in order to mark it as the sera of this il- 
lustrious deliverance. The passover was eaten, with bitter herbs, 
to remind the Israelites of their severe bondage and servile food 
in Egypt:-~with unleavened bread, because the Egyptians, in 
their terror, urged them to depart, and would not allow them time 
to leaven their bread, for thty said we he all dead men. And it was 
likewise eaten in the postureof travellers just prepared for a jour- 
ney, to mark its having immediately preceded their sudden and fi- 
nal departure from the house of bondage. 

The Feast of Tabernacles was instituted to perpetuate the deliv- 
erance of the Israelites, and their journeying in the desert. On 
this occasion they were commanded to dwell in tabernalesor booths, 
*' made of the boughs of goodly trees." And, 

The Feast of Pentecost was appointed fifty days after the pass- 
over, to commemorate the delivery ot th« Law from Mount Sinai, 
which took place fifty days after their departure from Egypt. At 
this festival, which was celebrated at that season of the year when 
their harvest usually closed, each head of a family was enjoined 
by the' Jewish law to take vsome of the first fruits of the earth, and 
bring it to the place which the Lord should choose, and to set it 
down before the altar of the Lord^ making the solemn acknowl- 

• '^ Faber's Horss Mosaicse, vol. i. pp. 337—341. 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 159 

edgment of the whole series of peculiar and miraculous providen- 
ces experienced bj the nation, which is prescribed in Deut. xxvi, 
5—10. 

Now all these institutions have been held sacred among the Jews 
in all ages, since their appointment, and are solemnly and sacred- 
ly observed among them to this day. Can these observances be 
accounted for, on any principle but the evidence of the FACTSv 
on which they were founded? 

In like manner, the principal facts contained in the Gospels are 
confirmed by monuments, which subsist to this day among Chris- 
tians, and which are the objects of men's senses. These monu- 
ments are the ordinances of Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the 
festival observed on the first day of the week. 

It is a well-known fact, that, in all countries where the Chris- 
tian faith is held, its professors are initiated by Baptism; and that, 
by submitting to this rite, they renounce every other religious in- 
stitution, and bind theniselves to the profession of the Gospel alone. 
Now Baptism, being performed in the name of the Father, of the 
Son, and of the Holy Spirit, plainly signifies the firm persuasion 
of the Cliristian church that their religion is from God, the foun- 
tain of all oood; that it was published to mankind by Jesus Christ 
the Son of God, the voluntary messenger of this dispensation; and 
that it was confirmed by many great signs, miracles, and gifts of 
the Holy Spirit. Particularly, on the part of those who adminis- 
ter this rite, it signifies that they act agreeably to the will of the 
Father who appointed the Christian religion, and by express com- 
mandment from him, and from his Son who published it, as well 
as from the Holy Spirit, who confirmed it, when they baptise men 
into the belief and profession of Christianity. On the part of God, 
th;s rite is a declaration, by his ministers, that he accepts and par- 
dons the baptised person, provided he gives the answer of a good 
conscience, and in his subsequent life acts agreeably to the obliga- 
tions of baptism. And lastly^ on the part of the baptised, their 
receiving of this rite is understood to be an affectionate and solemn, 
public declaration of their sense of the relation in which they stand 
to God the Father as their Creator, to his only Son as their Re- 
deemer, and to the Holy Spirit as their Sanctifier, according 
to the views wnich the Christian religion gives of these relations; 
and also of their firm resolution faithfully to perform all the duties 
resulting from these relations. 

That the LordPs Supper is often celebrated in all Christian coun- 
tries, is a FACT that cannot be questioned : neither can it be ques- 
tioned, that Christians consider this rite to be essentially connec- 
ted with the profession of their religion. Our fathers entertained 
the same opinion of its importance; and their fathers viewed it in 
the same light. But what claims and deserves particular notice 
with reference to this institution is, that by the common consent of 
Christians bow living, and of all in former ages of whose opinion 



i60 AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTWRE3, 

we have any knowledge, the importance of the Lord*s supper an 
ses from its being a commemoration of the life, sufferings, death, 
and resurrection, and final coming of the founder of their reli» 
gionj and from its having been expressly enjoined to all his disci- 
ples by his dying request, with a view to perpetuate the memorj 
and demonstate the truths of these events. 

The stated observance of the First Day of the Week, as a sacred 
festival in honor of Christ's resurrection from the dead — on which 
day Christians abstain from all secular labors and affairs, and hold 
solemn assemblies for the public worship of God — preserves that 
grand event from falling into oblivion. 

Now, as these monuments perpetuate the memory, so they de- 
monstrate the truth, of the facts contained in the Gospel history 
beyond all reasonable contradiction: because, unless the events of 
which the Christian rites are commemorations, had really existed, 
it is impossible to conceive how those rites could have come into 
general use. For, if Jesus Christ neither lived, nor taught, nor 
wrought miracles, nor died, nor rose again from the dead, it is al- 
together incredible that so many men, in countries so widely dis- 
tant, should have conspired together to perpetuate such a series of 
falsehoods, by commencing the observation of the institutions of 
Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the Lord's day: and it is equal- 
ly incredible that, by continuing to observe them, they should have 
imposed those falsehoods on posterity. 

The necessity of a Divine Revelation renders it very probable 
that men have received Divine information. The possibility of 
such a communication is so manifest as to preclude all discussion 
on that subject. The chief opposers of the Christian revelation have 
admitted that when men are sunk in gross ignorance and deba- 
sed by error and corrupt habits, God may kindly interpose by a 
special application of his power and providence, and reveal such 
useful truths as may tend to reform their lives and excite them to 
obedience by proper motives. Now not only the history of human 
degradation at the time of Christ, but that of all ages and nations 
on which the sun of Righteousness has not darted his vivifying 
and enlightened rays, abundantly testify that mankind greatly nee- 
ded a help from God to enable them clearly to understand their 
relationship and duty to him as their Creator, preserver and Sav- 
iour. And all the systems of doctrines and morality in the 
world produced by man, unaided by celestial illumination, are so 
puerile, heterogeneous and insignificant as to prove a revelation 
was necessary.— Wherein consists man's true happiness, by what 
rites the Deity would be worshipped, the design and tendency of 
his government, his unity and moral character, and man's nnal 
destiny were almost totally unknown to' the world, and if better 
known now, the advance is principally owing to the light of Di- 
viner evelation upon the human mind, or the reflections of that ii* 
luminatiofi. 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCIIIPTURES. I^J 

if the religion of nature be written with sufficient strength and 
perspicuity on every man's heart, why might not an Indian or 
Chinese form as good a system of religion as a Christian; and if 
so, why has it never been produced? If we select the systems of 
Confucius, Zoroaster, Socrates, and Plato, the greatest Moralists 
ever an unenlightened world could boast, we find them blended 
with so much superstition and absurdity, as to defeat their main 
design. Men who only begin to think of these subjects, after they 
arrive at the age of maturity, do not sufficiently consider, whence 
they derived their views of religion; and thinking the whole sys- 
tem very natural, are apt to conclude it must have been known to 
all men. But the fact is, the knowledge of men on those subjects 
is derived from instruction, and therefore no man is capable of du- 
ly estimating the extent of his own powers. For the solution of 
this question we must have recourse to the testimpny of history, 
and thereby ascertain what mankind has been able to attain, in a 
variety of circumstances. Now it appears from the most careful in- 
vestigation, that all the useful and practical knowledge of religion, of 
which we find any traces among the Greeks and Eastern nations, 
was, by their own confession, derived from their ancestors; for the 
Greeks acknowledge their religion and wisdom to have been recei- 
ved from persons who arrived from the East in Greece by way of 
Thrace. But the celebrated wisdom of the East and even of the 
earliest Greeks, consisted in delivering the traditions of the an- 
cients, and it was a long time before men began to reason about re- 
ligion or morals. The purest notions therefore of religion, were 
handed down from the first parents of mankind, who received thenx 
from the Creator, t(? their oflfspring; but became still more and 
more corrupt, notwishstanding improvement in taste and science, 
till heaven was pleased again to interpose in the promulgation of 
the Christian religion, through the instrumentality of Christ and 
his apostles. 

It being manifest from the circumstances and history of the 
world, that a divine revelation was needed, and being naturally 
inferred that the Father of mankind would, in benevolence, inter- 
pose on behalf of his intelligent offspring, with a view to reclaiiu 
them from their vice and errors; and as there is no other religioa 
now in the world but the Christian that can make so just a pre- 
tence to a divine origin, and moreover, seeing it has, in its pimi- 
tive simplicity, as taught in the Evangelists, all the marks of a 
divine communication, from the reasonableness of its doctrines, 
the superexcellence of its morals, the efficience of its motives, 
and its manifest design, the glory of the Creator and happiness of 
the creature, we legitimately and reasonably conclude that Chris- 
tianity is what it has always professed to be, a divine communica- 
tion from the Father of lights, for the instruction and comtort of 
mankind universally. 

SI 



I6t AUTHORITY OF THE SeRtPTtfRE*. 

The superexcellent nature of thf'se books affords no small proof 
©f their divine authority. The parables of the New Testament, 
would do honor to any book in the world, if not in style, certain- 
ly in the choice of subjects, and in propriety and structure of the 
narratives, in their pathos and simplicity, which could only be the 
fjuit of a well cultivated judgment. The Lord's prayer for a com* 
position of the kind, stands without a rival, in the whole series of 
human productions: and that one precept of Jesus, taken from his 
sermon on the mount: **ari things, whatsoever you would that men 
should do to you, do ye even so to them," is of itself a system of 
morality which eclipses all human systems that ever existed in the 
world, as far as the brig;ht luminary of meridian day, outshines 
the veriest taper that glimmers in a solitary chamber. Whence 
then came these excellent compositions? Was Jesus a famous Phi» 
losopher, or the early Christians consummate scholars? Nay, no 
Specimens of composition which the first christians have left us, 
authorize us to believe that they were equal to the task: and how 
little qualified the Jews were to assist Christ in the undertaking, 
will be easily learned from their tradditions and writings which 
were the nearest to that age. The whole collection of the Tal- 
mud is one continued proof, into what follies they descended when- 
ever they left their bible; and how ill qualified they were to fur** 
nish such lessons as were delivered by the Master of Christians. 
Christianity, f.f we except the writers of the New Testament, 
could not b'^ast of a single production above mediocrity before the 
days of Justin, an hundred years after the death of Christ: but it 
i^ wrll known that the Christian scriptures were completed long 
before his time, and, as he him^elf declares ^^read daily in the chuv' 
ches, and Christian assemblies.''^ Now as it cannot be shown that 
any book in the New Testament M^as composed after the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, sixty years before the accession of the heathen 
Philosophers, we fairly conclude, that Christianity, being first pro- 
muVgated by Jews, who were proverbially slow of understanding, 
derived its origin from heaven, agreeably to the testimony of its 
first propagators. 

The confession of Infi^lels may be here introduced with advan* 
tas;e. **l will confess to you," says Rousseau, ''that the majesty 
of the Scriptures strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the 
Gospel has its influence on my heart. Peruse the works of our 
p' ilo?ophers, with all their pomp of diction, how mean, how con- 
temptible are they, compared with the Scripture! Is it possible 
tha^ a book, at once so simple and sublime, should be merely the 
WM)rk of man? Is it possible that the sacred personage, whose his- 
tory it contains, should be himself a mere man? Do we find that 
he assumed the tone of an enthusiast or ambitious sectary? What 
sweetness, what purity in his manners! What an affecting; grace* 
fu'ness in his delivery? What sublimity in his maxims! What pro* 
fouud wisdom iti his discourses! What presence of mind i^hisre^' 



AVTHORITT OF THE 80RIPTWRE9. 863 

plies! H'^w great the command over his passions! Where is the 
man, where the philosopher, who could so live and so die, without 
weakness, and without ostentation?— When Plato described his 
imaginary good man with all the shame of guilt, yet meriting the 
highest rewards of virtue, he describes exactly the character of Je- 
sus Christ: the resemblance was so striking that all the Christiaa 
fathers perceived it. 

"What prepossession, what blindness must it be to compare 
(Socrates) the son of Sophroniscus to (Jesus) the son of M:iry! 
What an infinite disproportion is there between them! Socrates, 
dying without pain or ignominy, easily supported his character to 
the last; and if his death, hov^rever easy, had not crowned his life, 
it might have been doubted whether Socrates, with all his wisdom> 
was any thing more than a vain sophist. He invented, it is said, 
the theory of morals. Others, however, had before put them in 
practice; he had only to say, therefore, what they had done, and 
to reduce their examples to precept. — But where could Jesus learn 
among his competitors, that pure and sublime morality, of which 
he only has given us both precept and example?— The death of 
Socrates, peaceably philosophising with his friends, appears the 
most agreeable that could be wished for; that of Jesus, expiring 
in the midst of agonizing pains, abused, insulted, and accused by 
a whole nation, is the most horrible that could be feared. Socra- 
tes, in receiving the cup of poison, blessed the weeping execution- 
er who administered it; but Jesus, in the midst of excrutiating 
tortures, prayed for his merciless tormentors. Yes! if the life 
and death of Socrates were those of a sage, the life and death of 
Jesus were those of a God. Shall we suppose the evangelic histo- 
ry a mere fiction? Indeed, my friends, it bears not the mark of 
fiction; on the contrary, the history of Socrates, which no b)dj 
presumes to doubt, is not so well attested as that of Jesus Christ, 
Such a supposition, in fact, only shifts the difficulty, without obvi- 
ating it: it is more inconceivable, that a number of persons should 
agree to write such a history, than that one only should furnish the 
subject of it. The Jewish authors were incapable of the dictioa 
and strangers to the morality contained in the Gospel, the marks 
of whose truth are so striking and inimitable, that the inventor 
would be a more astonishing character than the hero." 

**In Christ, we have an example of a quiet and peaceable spirit, 
of a becoming modesty and sobriety, just, honest, upright, and 
sincere; and, above all, of a most gracious and benevolent tem- 
per and behaviour. One, who did no wrong, no injury to any 
man, in whose mouth was no guile; who went about doing good not 
only by his ministry, but also in curing all manner of diseases 
among the people. His life was a beautiful picture of human na» 
ture in its native purity and simplicity; and showed at once whit 
excellent creatures men would be, when under the influence and 
5>ov\^er of that gospel which he preached unto them."* 
* Chubb's True Gospel of Jesus Christ, sect. 8. 



iP4 AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. ^ 

Bolinbroke says, *'No religion ever appeared in the world whose 
natural tendency was so much directed to promote the peace and 
happiness of mankind as Christianity. — No system can be more 
simple and plain, than that of natural religion as it stands in the 
Gospel. The gospel is in all cases one continued lesson of the 
strictest moraiity, of justice, of benevolence and of charity." — 
Paine asserts that '*Jesus Christ was a virtuous and amiable man^ 
that the morality which he preached and practised was of the most 
benevolent kind; that, though similar systems of morality had 
been preached by Confucius, and by many good men in all ages^ 
it has not been exceeded by any." — Such are the strange concess- 
ions of Infidels. 

The following extract from the Evangelical Demonstration of 
Eusebius,* may not be unacceptable, being the language of an able 
advocate of Christianity, within three centuries of its foundation. 

'*Is it a thing possible to conceive that deceivers and unlearned 
men should ever attempt so extravagant a thing, as to travel over 
nations, accomplish their design and establish their doctrine, in all 
parts of the world? How strange to suppose that they should, in 
no respect disagree one from another, in the account they give of 
the actions of Christ? If in all questions of fact and in all trials 
at law, the agreement of several witnesses is always accounted 
sufficient to determine, satisfactorily, the matter in question, is it 
not abundant evidence of the truth, in this case, that twelve apos- 
tles, seventy disciples, and innumerable other believers have born 
witness to the actions of Christ, with exact and perfect agreement 
among themselves; and not only so but have endured all kinds of 
torments and even death itself to confirm their testimony; no one, 
being terrified at the death of others, ever forsook his companions 
or ever preached contrary to them and detected the fraud? 
!Nay, on the contrary, that one, who forsook his Master in his life 
time, and betrayed him to his enemies, being self-condemned, de- 
stroyed himself." 

,.The history of the Gospel, stands distinguished from all other 
history by the uninterrupted nature of its testimony, which carries 
down its evidence, without a chasm, from its earliest promulgation 
to the present day. We do not speak of the superior weight and 
splendor of its evidences, at the first publication of that history, 
as being supported, not merely by the testimony of one, but by the 
concurrence of several independent witnesses. We do not speak 
of its subsequent writers, who follow one another in a far closer 
and more crowded train, than there is any other example in the his- 
tory of the literature of the world- We speak of the strong though 
"unwrittan testimony of its numerous proselytes, who, in the very 
fact of their proselytism, give the strongest possible confirmation 
to the Gospel, and fill up every chasm in the evidence of past time. 

It may be observed, that in pursuing the line of continuity from 

'^Book 3 chap, iiu 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 165 

the days of the apostles, the written testimonies for the truth of 
the Christian miracles follow one another in closer succession, 
than we have any other example of in ancient history. Indeed 
every convert to the Christian faith in those days, gives one ad- 
ditional testimony to the truth of the Gospel history. Is he a Gen- 
tile? The sincerity of his testimony is approved by the persecu- 
tions, the sufferings, the danger, and often the certainty of mar- 
tyrdom, which the profession of Christianity incurred. Is he a 
Jew? The sincerity of his testimony is approved by all these evi- 
dences, and in addition to them by this well known fact, that the 
faith and doctrine of Christianity were in the highest degree repug- 
nant to the wishes and prejudices of that people. 

Every sentence in a Christian father, expressive of respect for a 
book in the New Testament, is also expressive of his faith in its 
contents. It is equiv alent to his testimony for the miracles recor- 
ded in it. In the language of the law, it is an act by which he 
homologates the record, and superinduces his own testimony to 
that of the original writers. It would be vain to attempt speaking 
of all these testimonies. It cost the assiduous Lardner many 
years to collect them. They are exhibited in his credibility of the 
Ne y Testament; and in the multitude of them, we see a power 
and a variety of evidence for the Christian miracles, which is 
quite unequalled in the whole compass of ancient history. 

There are five apostolic fathers, and a series of Christian wri- 
ters who follow after them in rapid succession. To give an idea 
to those who are not conversant in the study of ecclesiastical an- 
tiquities, how well sustained the chain is from the first age of 
Christianity, we shall give a passage from a letter of Irenaeus, pre- 
served by Eusebius. We have no less than nine compositions 
from different authors, which fill up the interval between him and 
Polycarp; and yet this is the way in which he speaks, in his old 
age, of the venerable Polycarp, in a letter to Florinus. '*I saw 
you, when I was very young, in the Lower A^ia with Polycarp, 
for I better remember the affairs of that time than those which 
have lately happened; the things which we learned in our childhood 
growing up in the soul, and uaiting themselves to it. Inasmuch, 
that I can tell where the blessed Polycarp sat and taught, and his 
going out, and coming in, and the manner of his life, and the form of 
his person, and his discourse to the people; and how he related his 
conversation with John, and others who had seen the Lord; and 
how he related theii sayings, and what he had heard concer- 
ning the Lord, both concerning his miracles and his doctrines, as 
he had received them from the eye-witnesses of the Word of Life: 
all which Polycarp related agreeably to the Scriptures. These 
things I then, through the mercy cf God towards me, diligently 
heard and attended to, recording them not on paper but on ray 
heart." 

Now is the time to exhibit to full advantage the argument which 



i66 AUTHORITY O? THE 90RIPTUnE&. 

the different epistles of the New Testament afford. They are, ij^ 
fact, so many distinct and additional testimonies. If the testimo- 
nies drawn from the writings of the Christian fathers are calcula- 
\ fed to make any impression, then the testimonies of these epis* 
ties, where there is no delusion, and no prejudice in the mind of 
the inquirer, must make a greater impression. They are more an- 
cient, and were held to be of greater authority by competent jud-^ 
ges. They were held sufficient by the men of those days, who 
%ere nearer to the sources of evidence; and they ought, therefore, 
to be held sufficient by us. The early persecuted Christians had 
too great an interest in the grounds of their faith, to make a light 
and superficial examination. 

For the truth of the Gospel history, we can appeal to one strong 
and unbroken series of testimonies from the days of the apostles. 
But the great strength of the evidence lies in that effulgence of 
testimony, vvhich enlightens this history at its commencement — m 
the numberof its original witnesses — in the distinct and independ- 
ent records which they left behind them, and in the undoubted 
faith they bore among the numerons societies which they institu- 
ted."* 

The following testimonies will tend to illustrate what has beeu 
alleged in favor of the authenticity and authority of the Scriptures, 
from ihe Christian fathers and ecclesiastical writers. 

Eusebius, the historian, relates that Quadratus and otheirs, who. 
were immediate successors to the apostles, ''travelling abroad, per- 
formed the work of evangelists, being desirous to preach Christj 
and deliver the Scripture of the Divine Gospels." 

Justin, in the year 140, informs us that ''the memoirs of the 
apostles (which he calls Gospels) are read according as the time al- 
lows (in the Christian churches) and when the reader has ended^ 
the president makes a discourse, exhorting to the imitation of so 
excellent things.'' At another place, he confirms his sentiments 
by sayifig '*as they have taught, who have written the history of 
all things concerning our Saviour Jesus Christ; and we believe 
them." 

Irenseus, about the year 170, and consequently about a century 
after the publication of the Gospels, says "we have not receiVed 
the knowledge of the way tf salvation by any others, than by those 
who have brought us the Gospel, which they first preached, and 
afterwards, by the will of God, committed to writing, that it 
might be, for time to come, the pillar and'fpundation of our faith- 
For after our Lord rose from the dead, and they were endowed 
with the power of the Holy Spirit, th#y received a perfect knowl- 
edge of all things. Then they went forth to all the ends of the 
earth, declaring to men the blessings of heavenly peace, having all 
of them, and each one alike, the Gospel of God. Then Matthew, 
among the Jews, wrote a Gospel in their owu laBguage, while Pe- 

* Chalmer'6 Evideaees of Christianity, Chap. v. 



AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. J 67 

ter and Paul were preaching the Gospel at Rome, and founding a 
church there. After their exit, Mark also, the disciple and inter* 
preter of Peter, delivered to us, in writing, the things which had 
been preached by Peter. Luke, the companion of Paul, put dowa 
in a book the Gospel preached by him; afterwards, John, the dis- 
ciple of the Lord, who leaned on his breast, likewise published a 
Gospel while he dwelt at Ephesus, in Asia." 

TertuUian, about the year 200, bears the following concise and 
appropriate testimony: ''Among the apostles, John and Matthew 
teach us the faith: among apostolic men, Luke and Mark refresh 
it. I say then that not with them only which are apostolical, but 
with all who have fellowship with them in the same faith, is that 
Gospel of Luke received from its first publication, which we zeal- 
ously maintain. The same authority of the apostolical churches, 
will support the other Gospels which we have of them, I mean 
John's and Matthew's, although that likewise which Mark publish- 
ed may be said to be Peter's, whose interpreter Mark was." 

In the beginning of the third century, lived the great and just- 
ly celebrated Origen, whose quotations of scripture are so numer- 
ous as to have induced that eminent critic, Dr- Mill, to say, that 
if we had all his works, we should have before us almost the whole 
text of the Bible; he informs us, that in his time, **the four 
Gospels were received without dispute, by the whole church of 
God under Heaven.'' Again, he adds, that "Luke once more 
sounded the trumpet, in relating the Acts of the Apostles." Eu- 
sebius records of him, that when he went into Palestine, about the 
year 216, though he had not been ordained a presbyter, he was 
desired by the bishops of that country to discourse and expound 
the scriptures, publicly, in the churches. Nothing more need be 
added; for from the days of Origen, the New Testament stood 
complete, and was as much esteemed, venerated, cited, and ap- 
pealed to, as a divine guide, as it ever was, or can be, even at the 
present time. 

In the fourth century we find the Arians refusing to admit the 
words consubstantial and essence, ^'becovse they were not in the scrips 
tures.^'^ One of them in contest with Augustine says, "If you say 
what is reasonable, I submit; if you allege any thing out of the 
divine scriptures, which are common to both, I must hear; but un- 
flcriptural expressions deserve no regard."* 

It may help to convey to us some notion of the extent of Chris- 
tianity, or rather of the character and quality of many early 
Christians, to notice the number of Christian writers who flourish- 
ed in these ages. St. Jerome's catalogue contains sixty-six wri*" 
ters within the three first centuries, and the six first years of the 
fourth; and fifty-four between that time and his own, viz. A. D. 
S92. Jerome introduces his catalogue with the following just rc- 

* For all these and many similar quoUtions, seo Larduer'g Credibility ani 
iPaley'a EFedenoes^ 



168 AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

monstrance: — "Let those, who say the church has had no philo- 
sophers, nor eloquent and learned men, observe who and what 
they were, who founded, established and adorned it; let them 
cease to accuse our faith of rusticity, and confess their mistake." 
Of these writers, several, as Justin, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexan- 
dria, TertuUian, Origen, Bardesanes, Hippolitus, Eusebius, were 
voluminous writers. Christian writers abounded particularly about 
the year 178. Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, founded a libra- 
ry in that city A. D. 219. Pamphilus, the friend of Origen, foun- 
ded a library at Cesarea, A. D. 294. Public defences were also 
set forth, by various advocates of the religion, in the course of its 
three first centuries. Within one hundred years after Christ's 
ascension, Quadratus and Aristides, whose works, except some 
few fragments of the first, are lost; and about twenty years after- 
wards, Justin Martyr, whose works remain, presented apologies 
for the Christian religion to the Roman emperors: Quadratus and 
Aristides to Adrian, Justin to Antonius Pius, and a second to Mar- 
cus Antonius. Melito, bishop of Sardis, and Apollinaris, bishop 
of Hierapolis, and Miltiades, men of great reputation, did the 
same to Marcus Antonius twenty years afterwards: and ten years 
after this, Apollonius, who suffered martyrdom under the empe- 
ror Commodus, comj)osed an apology for his faith, which he read 
in the senate, and which was afterwards published. Fourteen 
j-ears after the apology of Apollonius, TertuUian addressed the 
work, which now remains under that name, to the governors of 
provinces in the Roman empire; and about the same time, Min- 
liucius Felix composed a defence of the Christian religion, which is 
still extant; and, shortly after the conclusion of this century, co- 
pious defences of Christianity were published by Arnobius and 
Lactantius.* 

On this article, I have been more prolix than I intended, but I 
have had a peculiar reason for. being so explicit. Some are too il- 
liberal to admit, that a preacher of the Common Salvation can be a 
believer in the Sacred Scriptures: but this is their own blinded 
imagination, to which a contracted mind naturally tends. To the 
blessed name and religion of Jesus, I feel a sacred and growing 
devotion. In this system of unchangeable truth, my mind was 
imbued at an early age. I have tried and found Jesus to be a faith- 
ful and true Witness. He gave himself for me, and my days are 
his due. 

*PaIey*s Evidences, vol. 2. Chap. 9. S. 1.. 



INTEGRlTy OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

Uuder this head, I include both the entireness and the purity of 
tlie Christian scriptures. It will be therefore appropriate and 
Suitable here to inquire into the nature and authority of the canon, 
and also concerning the state of the received text. 

The word canon signifies a law or rule, and is used to denote 
that arbitrary decision of the ancient church which distinguishes 
certain books of Sacred Writ, as a rule of fiith and practice. 
Hence those books of the New Testament which received the sanc- 
tion of the eminent Fathers and councils of the fourth century, 
are called canonical, and the rest are denominated apocryphal^ or 
condemned. Of the authority and correctness of this decision, 
however, every man has equal right to judge, as well as concern- 
ing the creeds which were formed in the same agej for all must 
admit that if these fathers and councils were liable to err in the 
one case, they were equally subject to fallibility in the other* 
The canon of th^ New Testament is therefore to be considered as 
received, or true. The received includes all the books in the pres- 
ent volume, called the New Testament. The true canon contains 
all books, the genuineness of which can be established by satisfac- 
tory evidence. "The opinions, or rather the conjectures of the 
learned, about the time when the books of the New Testament 
were collecte-d into one volume, as well as those about the authors 
of that collection, are extremely different. It is, however, suffi- 
cient for us to know, that the greatest part of the books of the 
New Testament were, before the middle of the second century, 
read in every Christian society throughout the world, and received 
as a divine rule of faith and manners."* The formation of the 
canon seems t© have been the result of free and individual inquiry. 
Eusebius expressly affirms t that the four Gospels were collected 
during the life of John, and that the three first obtained his ap- 
probation, Papias, a cotemporary of Polycarp, and who had beea 
a hearer of John, minutely describes the Gospels of Matthew and 
Mark. J Tatian, in A. D. 172, composed a Gospel, or Harmony, 
out of the four, called Diatesseron: and in 178, Irenaeus labours, at 
some length, to prove that there were no more th^ four gospels of 
divine authority. A very few years after, we find Clement, of 
Alexandria, use these discriminating words; '*We have not this 
passage in the four Gospels delivered to us^ but in that accor- 
ding to the Egyptians.'' II These testimonies sufficiently show the 
early preference which the four Gospels obtained among the Chris-* 
tians. Moreover, as the Syriac version must have been made ia 
the second century at latest, and as it contains the four Gospels 
* Mosheim, vo). i, 193. f Eccles. Hist. L. 3, g. 24. | Larduer'a Credibj 
vol. 1, 239. IILardaer's Crcd. vol. 2, 469. 



170 INTEGRIITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, 

the Acts, the thirteen Epistles ascribed to Paul, the first of Johis* 
and the first of Peter, it shows the canon to be generally fixed at 
that early period. The catalogues of Origen, Eusebius, Athanasi- 
us, Cyril, the Councils of Laodicea and Carthage, Epiphanius, 
GregO'-y Naz-ianzen, Jerome and Augustine, contain all the books 
in the Syriac version: but of the rest they differ in opinion. 

The following rules for settling the canon of Scripture, are se- 
lected from the learned Jeremiah Jones' ^'new method." 

1. Those books are canonical, which were read for Scripture in 
the churches of the primitive Chri:?tians5 and cited as Scriptuie 
by the early Christian writers. 

2. Those books are canonical which are found in the most an- 
cient catalogues of Christian books, and which have been incorpo- 
rated in the ancient Svriac version. 

3. Those books are considered canonical which have been sup- 
ported by the testimony or traditions of those who lived nearest the 
time in which the books profess to have been written. 

Being guided by these rules, we may; wilh becoming confitlence, 
retain the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of 
Paul, the first of John, and the first of Peter, in the canon of the 
New Testament. But when we so say, we do not imply that these 
books are free from interpolations, or that those parts which are 
not authentic, should be considered of equal authority with those 
that are clearly genuine. 

**But not long after Christ's ascension, several histories of his 
life and doctrines, full of pious frauds and fabulous wonders, 
were composed by per>>ons whose intentions, perhaps, were not 
bad, but whose writings discovered the greatest superstition and 
ignorance. Spuriou? productions were imposed on the world by 
fraudulent men, as the writings cf the holy apostles, and these 
sixirious writings were calculated to produce the greatest confu- 
sion, had there not been the greatest care used in separating the 
genuine and apostolical from the spurious trash circulated under 
the name of Divin ?• Scripture." 

Whether the canon of the Christian Scriptures be complete^ has 
afforded ample ground for dubious discussion among the learned. 
The negative has been maintained by men of the very first standing 
in the field of Christian literature; among whom, probably, none 
have been more, strenuous than Archbishon Wake and Professor 
Whiston.* 

The three first centuries after Christ, present us a list of more 
than one hundred baoks:, all professing claims to authority as Chris- 
tian Sciiptures, and most of them assuming the names of Christ 
and his Apostles, ard their immediate successors, as authors; and 
the most stupid and foolish frequently boasting the greatest *hare 
©f inspiration and celestial authority. In these circumstances^ 

^''See Wake's edition of the Apostolic Fathers, and Whiston's Primitive 
Christianity* 



INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. ifj 

what could the earlj Christians do? Those books would natural- 
ly be preferred, whose authenticity could be most clearly asfer- 
tained, or whose sentiments were most accordant to the views of 
sectarian davotees: and as the age in which the canon became set- 
tied was the most prolific in sectarian violence, fraudulent deal- 
ings, heresies, outrage and bloodshed among preteaded Christians, 
it was the very worst season in the whole Christian history for a 
calm, deliberate, and judicious selection of books. Some books 
would naturally obtain patronage in one section of country, whicb 
would be unknown or despised in another — one sect of Christians 
would prefer a certain class of books, and another sect would 
make a selection more or less diiFerent, according to the different 
views of the parties and their local habitation. 

There are three questions of great importance which naturally 
intrude on the mind of a serious inqurer, concer^iingthe authority 
of the received canon of Scripture: 1. Are there any other books of 
equal authority with those included in the present canon of the 
New Testament? 2. Are all the books included in the present 
canon, of equal authority? 3. Have these sacred books been 
transmitted to us in primitive purity? 

1. The number of books which have, at different ages, claimed 
admission into the canon, has been very considerable. Mr. To- 
land* has presented a catalogue containing the names of above 
eighty books, professing to have been written by Christ himself, his 
apostles, or their immediate successors. All these he would per- 
suade us to receive as books of equal authority with those contain- 
ed in the received canon: and this he labors to prove, by alleging 
that they, or at least many of them, were cited by the first Chris- 
tians, as books of Scripture. The learned Dr. S Clark, in his 
reflections on Toland's Amyntor, concedes the promiscuous citation 
of many other books not contained in our catalogue: and the still 
more learned Casaubon, in his controversy with Baronius, asserts 
that "everybody knows that Justin Martyr, C'emens, Alexandria 
nus, Tertullian. and other primitive writers, both cite and ap- 
prove books which every body now considers apocryphal." Die 
very learned Dodwellf affirms that till the time of Trajan, or even 
that of Adrian, no canon of the New Testament \vas fixed — but 
that the supposititious pieces of heretics were received by the 
faithful, the apostolical writings being bound up with theirs, and 
indifferently used in the churches: Spanheimf observes that *'^Clem- 
ens, Alexandriiius, and Origen, very often cite apocbryplial books, 
under the express name of Scripture.'' (ndeed, a higher authori- 
ty than any that has been yet cited, speaks of many who had ta- 
ken in hand to write G'>spels, y^i attaches no blfime to them, but 
rather assigns the fact as a reason of his own undertaking.il Ter- 
tullian, Origen and others, who knew the great number of forge- 

*Arnvntor, p. 20. fNotes oo Ireoeus. |llist. Christ. SecuJ. 3, p. 706^ 
IfLuke, 1,1. 



17^ INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMElJt'. 

ries iu the Apostles' names, explain 2 Thes. 2. 2, of books that 
were falsely ascribed to Paul; an! their comments seem to be con- 
firmed by the close of the Epistle, where Paul makes his own sig- 
nature the future test of his genuine writings.* He also alludes to 
spurious Gospels, in the beginning of his Epistle to the Galatians. 

Archbishop Waket says we ought to regard the writings of the 
Apostolical fathers, such as Clemens, Barnabas, Ignatius, and 
Polycarp, as the pure uncorrupted doctrines of Christ and his 
Apostles. Whiston considers the Constitutions of the Apostles of 
greater value than the writings of a single Apostle; and earnestly 
contends that the Epistles ©f Clemens, the doctrine of the Apos- 
tles, the apostolical Constitutions, the Epistle of Barnabas, the 
shepherd of Hermas, the second Esdras, the Epistles of Ignatius 
and Polycarp, should be received into the canon of Scripture. 

Several eminent writers have furnished lists of books which 
have been deemed apocryphal and as such a list may be thought 
appropriate in this place and desirable at least by the curious, I 
shall here subjoin the follotring, taken from the Reverend and lear- 
ned Jeremiah Jones' "New method of settling the Canon," with 
the authorities from whom they are selected. 

1. Andrew, Acts of, Cited by Euseb. Hist. I. 3. c. 25. Philastr. 

Heres. 86. Epiphan, Heres. 47. 1. 61. n. 1 63. n. 2. 

Gelas. in Decret. 

2. Books in his name, Aug. Contra Ad vers. Leg. et Prophet. 
Tom. 61 1. 1. C. 20. Decret. Innocent. 1. Cap. 7. 

3. Gospel of, Gelas. in Decret. 

4. Appelles, Gospel in his name. Hieron. Prefat. Comment, 
in Matth. 

5. Apostles, Gospel according to the. 12, Origen Comment, in 
Ijuc. 1. Ambros. Comment. Luc. 1. Jerom. Prefat. Comment in 
Matth. 

6. Constitutions of, still extant in Whiston's primitive Chris- 
tianity, and worthy the attention of the scholar and student. 

7. Creed of. Ibid. Ambrose asserts that the twelve Apostles 
assembled together and formed this creed, but Archbishop Wake 
observes that without entering into a controversy which has been 
so fully handed by Natalus, Du Pin, Usher, Gerard, Vossius, Su- 
icer, Spanheim, Tentzel, and Basnage, it is not likely any suck 
thing had been done by the Apostles, seeing Luke has passed it in 
silence; aiid th.Q diversity of Creeds in the ancient Church, suffi- 
ciently show that it was not composed by the Apostles, much less 
in its present form. Befor'^ the year 6G0 it read thus: 

1. T believe in Go.l the Father Almighty; 

2. And in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son. our Lord, 
5. Who was born of the Holy Ghost and Virgin Mary, 

4. \m\ was cruriii d ujider Pontius Pilate, and was buried; 
*See ^.Tr-otius, v- loco. fSee his frauslaiiyn of the Apostolical Fatbers, pre- 
face C. 10, Sect. 11. 



INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. ITS 

5. A"Hd the third day rose again from the dead; 

6. Ascended into heaven, sitteth on the right hand of the 
J'ather ; 

7. Whence he shall come to.judge the quick and the dead; 

8. And in the Holy Ghost; 

9. The holy Church; 

it). The remission of sins; 

11. And the resurrection of the flesh, Amen. 
8. History of the Apostles, extant. 
6. Barnabas, Gospel of, Gelas. in Decret. 

10. Epistle of, Wake's Apostolical Fathers. Whiston's Prim- 
itive Christianity, and Apocryphal New Testament. 

Barnabas was a companion and fellow-preacher with Paul. This 
Epistle lays a greater claim to canonical authority than most oth- 
ers. It has been cited by Clemens Alexandriou;?, Origen, Eiisebi- 
us, and Jerome, and many ancient Fathers. Cotelerius affirtns 
that Origen and Jerome esteemed it genuine and canonical; but 
Cotelerius himself did not believe it to be either one or the other; 
on the contrary he supposes it vvas written for the benefit of the Eb- 
ionites, who were tenacious of rites and cerem Hiies. Bishop Fell 
feared to own expressly what he seemed to be persuaded of, that 
it ought to be treated w-th th^ >a ne respect as several of the books 
of the present canon. Dr. Bernard, Savilian professor at Oxford, 
not only beli 've d it to be genuine, but that it was read throughout, 
in the churches at Alexandria, as the canonical scriptures \\ere» 
Dixlvvell supposed it to have been published before the Epistle '.f 
Jude, and the writings of both the Johns. Vossius, Du Pin, Dr. 
Cave, Dr. Mill, Dr. 'S. Clark, Whiston, and Archbishop \Vake, 
also estee Tied it genuiic: Menar -us, Archbishop LaudjSpanhekn, 
anti others, deemed it apocryphal. 

11. Bartholomew, writings of, Dionys. Areop. deTheol.Mys- 
tica. p. I6r. 

12. Gospel of, Hieron. Catal.o'j. Vir. Illus. in Pant, et PrcAtt. 
Comment, in Matth. Ge!;is. in D'cret. 

13. Basilides, Go>pel of, Ongen, and Ambrose in Luc. 1. Hi- 
eron. Prefat. Coniment. in Alatth. 

14. Cerinthus, G tsp;4 of, Enphan. Heres. 51. 

15. Revelation of. Caius Piesb. a|>ui! Eust-b. HistJ 1. 3. c. 28. 

16. Corinthians, Eoistle of t(i Paul, still extant. 

17. Christ, Episrl^ of to Peter and Paul. Aug. de Consens. 
Evang. I. 1. c. 9. Tom. 4. 

18. Some other books in his name. Ibid. c. 3. 

19. An Ejnstie of, produced by the Manicheans, Aug. contra 
Faust. 28. c. 4. 

20. Lf^tter of, to Abgarus. Extant. 

The first writer who makes any mention of the Epistles tint 
passed between Jesus Christ and Abji,aius, is Eusebius, Bi.?iu>p of 
* See Mr. Ju^slice Bailee's EJitiou of the book of Coinmou Tracer. 



174 INTEGRITY OF THE SORIPTURES, 

Caesarea, in Palestine, who flourished ia the xarlv part of the 
fourth century. For their genuineness, he appeals to the public 
registers and the records of the City of Edessa, in Mesopotamia, 
■u'here Abgarus reigned, and where he affirms he found them writ- 
ten in the Sjriac language. He publihsed a Greek translation of 
them, in his Ecclesiastical History. The learned v/orld has been 
much divided on this subject^ but, notwithstanding the erudite 
Grabe, with Archbishop Cave, Dr. Parker, and other divines have 
strenuously contended for their admission into the c mon of Scrip- 
ture, they are deemed apocryphal. The Rev. Jeremiah Jones ob- 
serves, that the common people in England have this Epistle in 
their houses, in many places, fixed in a frame, with the picture of 
Christ before it; and that tbey generally, with much honesty and 
devotion, regard it as the \\ord of Gud, and the genuine Epistle of 
Christ. 

21. Letter of, to Leopas, Priest of Eris. Still Extant. 

9,2. G>spel of his infancy. Extant in the Apocryphal New 
Testament, 

Mr. Henry Sike, Professor of Oriental Languages at Cambridge, 
fi'st translated and published this G.)spel in 1:>9T. It was receiv- 
ed by the Gaostics, and other Christians, viz. Eusebius, Athana- 
siaus, Epiphanius, Chrysos+om, &:c. 

M. La Crose cites a synod at Angamala, in the mountains of 
Malabar, A. D. 1399, v/hich condesnns this Gospel, as commonly 
read by the Nestorians in that c;)untry. Ahmed Ibu Idris, a Ma- 
hometan divine, says, it was used by some Christians in common 
with the oth^r four G,)i?p9ls; and Ocobius de Castro maations a 
Gospel of Thomas, which he says, he saw and had translated to 
him by an Armenian Archbishop at Amsterdam, that was read in 
very many churches of Asia and Africa, as the only rule of their 
faith. Fabrlcius takes it to be this Gospel. It has been supposed, 
that Mahomet and his coadjutors used it in compiling the Koran. 

23. Clemens, Epistles of, E itant. Apocryphal New Testament, 
Primitive Christianity. 

The first of tijese Epistles contains fifteen chapters, and is 
greatly preferred to the second. It is translated by Archbishop 
Wake, from a very ancient Greek copy at the end of the famous 
Alexandrine, Manuscript. Clement was a disciple of Peter and 
bishop of Rome.. Clemens Alexandrinus, Jerome, and Ruffinus, 
regard him as an apostolic man: and Eusebius says this epistle 
was read in the public assemblies of the primitive church; it is in- 
cluded in one of the ancient collections of canonical scriptures. 

24. E:i;vptians, the G:)snpl accortiino; to Clem. Alexand. Strom, 

1. 3. Origen in Taic. 1. Hieron, inMatth. Epiph. Heres. 62. n. 

2. As this book is lo^t, except a few extracts, we are unable to 
form a correct judiyment of its real merits; but from the most an- 
cient and impartial testimony wf» have muoh reason to lament its 
loss. Perhaps it fell a prey to that blind zeal which abhorb what- 



INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 175 

ever is not in unison with its favorite opinions. This book was held 
in liigh esteem among many of the early christians, and frequent- 
ly cited as genuine scripture. 

25. Ebionites, Gospel of, Epiphan. Heres. SO. n. 13. There 
(iSLU be no doubt but that this book was genuine. 

26. Acts of the Apostles used by them. Ibid. 

S7. Encratites, Gospel of, Epiphan. Heres. 46. n. 1. 

28. Eve, Gospel of, Ibid. Heres. 26. 

29. Hebrews, Gospel according to, H^gesip. Comment apud 
Euseb. Hist. 1. 4. c 22. Clemens Alex. Strom, l 1. Origen 
Tract. 8. in Matth. et in Joan. p. 58. Euseb. Hist.l. S. c. 25, 27, 
29, and Jerome in many places* This, as far as we can judge, was 
the ancient, genuine, and authentic Gospel of Matthew, written 
by him, in Hebrew, a ftw yearsafter our Lord's ascension, for the 
use of his own countrymen. It had not the spurious introduction 
contained in the Greek copy. 

SO. Helcesaites, the book of, Euseb. Hist. L. 6. C. S8o 

31. Hermas, shepherd of, Apochryphal Testament. 

This book is thus entitled, because it was composed by Hermas, 
brother to Pius, bishop of Romej and because the angel, who bears 
the principal part in it, is represented in the form and habit of a 
Shepherd. Ireneeus quotes it under the very name of Scripture^ 
Origen thought it a most useful writing, and that it was divinely 
inspired j Eusebius says, that, though it was not esteemed canoni- 
cal, it was read publicly in the churches, which is corroborated by 
Jerome; and AtIl^na«ius cites it, calls it a most useful work, and 
observes that though it was not strictly canonical, the Fathers ap- 
pointed it to be read for direction and confirmation in faith and 
piety. Jerome, Notwithstanding this, and that he applauded it 
in his catalogue of writers, in his comments upon it afterwards^ 
terms it apocryphal and foolish. Tertullian praised it wi.en a 
Catholic, and abused it when a Montanist. Although Galasius 
ranks it among the apocryphal books, it is found attached to some 
of the most ancient MSS. of the New Testameet; and Archbish- 
op Wake, believing it to be the genuine work of an apostolical fa- 
ther, preserves it to the English reader, by his translation, in 
which he has rendered the books not only more exact, but in great- 
er purity than they had before appeared. The Archbishop procu- 
red Dr. Grabe to entirely collate the old Latin version with an an- 
cient MS. in the Lambeth library; and the learned prelate himself 
still further improved the whole from a multitude of fragments of 
the original Greek, never before used for that purpose. 

32. Hesychius, Gospel of, Prefat. in Evang. Gebis in Decret, 
S3. Ignatius, Epistles of, extant in Wake's Apostolical fathers- 
Apocryphal New Testament. 

The Epistles of Ignatius are translated by Archbishop W^ke 
from the text of Vossius. He says that there were considerable 
diffgiCQce in the editions; the be»t for a long time extant contain 



ir6 INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

ing fabrications, and the genuine being altered and corrupted. 
Archbishop Usher printed old Latin translations of them at Ox- 
fort!, in 1644. At Amsterdam, two years afterwards, Vossius 
printed six of them in tlieir ancient and pure Greek; and the sev- 
enth, gradually amended from the ancient Latin version, was prin- 
ted at Paris, by Ruinart, in 1689. in the acts and martyrdom of 
Ignatius, fi-om a Greek uninterpolated copy. These are supposed 
to form the collection that Polycarp made of the Epistles of Igna- 
tius, mentioned by L'enaeus, Orig:en, Eusebius, Jerome, Athana- 
slus, Th^odoret. Gel sius, aad other ancients: but many learned 
men have imagined all of them to he apocryphal. This supposi- 
tion, the piety of Archbishop Wake, and his persuasion of their 
utility to the faith of the church, wUl not permit him to entertain; 
hence he has taken great pains to render the present translation 
acceptable, by adding numerous readings and references to the ca- 
nonical books. 

34. Infancy, 2 G spel of, See apocryphal New 'Testament. 
The original in Greek, from which this tr^inslation is made, will 

be found printed by Cotelerius, in his notes on the Constitutions 
of the Epostles, from a MS. in the French King's Library, No. 
29.79. It is attributed to Thomas, and conjectured to have been 
originally connected with the Gospel of Mary. 

35. .Tames, book of, Origen in Math. IS. 

36. Eo!)ks in his name, Epiphan. Heres. SO, 22. Innocent 1. in 
Decret. 

57. The Prot -Evangel ium of, Extant in Apocrj^phal Testa- 
ment. 

This Gospel is ascribed to James. The allusions to it in the 
anciei-t Fcithers are frequent, and their expressions indicate that it 
had obtametv ?. very general credit throughout the Christian world. 
It is supposed to have been originally composed in Hebrew. Pos- 
teilus brought the MS. of this Gospel from the Levant, translated 
it into Latin, and sent it to Oporinus, a printer at Basil, where 
BJbliander, a Protestant divine, and the Professor of Divinity at 
Zurich, caused it to be printed in 1552. Postellus asserts, that it 
was publiclv read as Canonical in the Eastern Churches, they ma- 
king no d(»ubt th;!t James was the author of it. It is, nevertheless 
considered apocryphal by some of the most learned divines in the 
Protestant and Catholic churches. 

38. John, Acts of, Euseb. Hist. 1. 3. c. 25. Athanas, in Sy- 
nop. Philast. Heres. 87. Epiphan. Heres. 47. Aug. Contra Ad- 
vers. Leo-. I. 1. c. 20. 

39. Books in his name, Epiph. Heres. 3, n. 32. Innocent 1 
in Decret. 

40. Jude, Gospel in his name, Epiph Heres. 38. n. 1, 

41. ludas Iscariot, a Gospel in his name, Iren. Advers. Heres. 
I. 1. c. 35. 

42. Lucius, Acts of the Apostles byj Aug. de Fide. Contra 



INTEGRITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 177 

Manicheum. — See the thirty- eighth chapter of the sixth volume. 
43, Lentiiius, Acts of the Apostles by, Ibid. Lib. de Act. 
cum Felic. Manich. c. 6. eod. Tom. 

44. Books of, Gelasius in Decret. 

45. Leontius, Acts of the Apostles by, Aug. de Fide contra 
Manich. c. 5. 

46. Lenthon, Acts of the x\postlesby, Hleron. Epist. ad Chrc* 
mat. et Heliodor. 

47. Lucian Gospel of, Hieron. Prefat. in Evang. ad Damas. 

48. Manichees, the acts of the Apostles used by them, Au- 
gust, contra Adiman. Manich. c. 17. 

49. Marcion, Gospel of, Tertull. advers. Marcion. I. 4. c. 2 
and 4. Epiphan. Heres. 42. 

50. Mary, Gospel of tha birth of, Extant in the Apocryphal 
New Testament. 

In the firimitiveages, there was a gospel of this name attributed 
to Matthew, and received as authentic by some of the early sects, 
among the Christians. It 's found in the works of Jerome, from 
which the present translation is made. From a copy of this Gos- 
pel, Faustus, bishop of Riez, endeavors to prove that Jesus, as the 
Son of Mary, could not be of the family of David, but of the tribe 
of Levi, for her father was a Pnest of the name of Joachim. This 
Gospel is cited also by Ephiphanius and Augustine. It is very 
similar to the Prot-evangelion ofJam.es. 

51. Matthew, books in his name, Epiph. Heres. 50. n. £2. 

52. Matthias, Gospel of, Origen in Luc. 1. Euseb. Hist. 1. 
3. c. 25. Ambrose in Luc. 1. Hieron. in Matth. 

53. Traditions of. Clemens Alex. Strom. 11. 1. 3. 7. 

54. A book in his name. Innocent. 1 in Decret. 

55. Merinthus, Gospel of, Epiph. Heres. 51 n. 7. 

5Q. Nicodemus, Gospel of, Extant in the Apocryphal Testa* 
ment. 

This Gospel is thus headed: ''■The Gospd of Nicodemus the dis' 
ciple, concerning the suffering and Resimection of our Master Jesus 
Christ,'"^ Some of the learned have believed this book to have 
been written by Nicodemus, who became \ disciple of Jesus Christ, 
but the greater number have considered it one of the pious frauds, 
about the close of the third century. 

57, Paul, Acts of, Origen de Princip. 1. 1. c. 2. and in Joan. 
Euseb. Hist. 1. 3. c. 3. Philastr. Heres. 87. 

58. Acts of Paul and Thecla, Tertull. de Baptism, c. 17. 
Hieron. Catalog;. Vir. Illust. in Luc. Gelas. in Decret. Extsnt 
in Apocryphal Testament. 

Tertullian says that this, piece was forged by a Presbyter of 
Asia, who being convicted, "confessed he did it out of respect to 
Paul," and Pope Gelasius, in his Decree against Apocryphal books, 
inserted it among them. Notwithstanding this, a large part of the 
history was credited and looked upon as genuine among the prioii- 

23 



trS INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

tive Christians. Cjprian, Eusebius, Epiphanius, AuvStin, Grego 
ry Nazianzen, Chrvsostorn, and Severiis Sulpitius, who all lived 
within the fourth century, mention Thecla, or refer to her history. 
Cardinal Baronius. Locrinus, Archbishop Vv'ake, and others, and 
xilso the learned Grabe, who edited ti^.e Septuagint, and revived the 
Acts of Paul and Thecla, consider them as having been written 
in the Apostolic age; as containing nothing superstitious, or disa- 
greeing from the opinions and belief of those times; and, in short, 
as a genuine and authentic History. Again, it is said, that this is 
not the original book of the early Christians; but hov-ever that may 
be, it is published from the Greek MS. in fhe Bodleian Library at 
Oxford, wliich Dr. Mills copied and transmitted to Dr. Grabe. 

1)9. Epistle of Paul to the Laodiceans, Extant in the v\pocry- 
phal Testament, and in Clarke's Commentary, at the end of the 
epistle to the Collossians. 

60. Preaching of Paul, Lactant. de Ver. Sapient. 1. 4. c. 21. 
Clemens Alex. Strom. C. 

61. The Revelation of Paul, Epiph. Heres. S8. n. 2. August. 
Tract. 98 in Joan. Gelas. in Decret. 

62. Third epistle of, to the Corinthians, seen by Archbishop 
Usher and Dr. Gr'egory, in an Armenian Manuscript. 

63. A book in the name of, Cypr. Epist. 23. 

64. Letters of, to Seneca, Extant in Apocryphal Testament. 
There are eight Epistles of Seneca to Paul, and six of Paul to 

Seneca. Several very learned writers have entertained a favora- 
ble opinion of these Epistles. They are undoubtedly of high an- 
tiquity. Salmeron cites them to prove that Seneca was one of Cae- 
sar's household, referred toby Paul, Philip, iv. 22, as saluting the 
brethren at Philippi. In Jerome's enumeration of illustrious men, 
Replaces Seneca, on account of these Epistles, amongst the eccle- 
siastical and holy writers of the Christian church. Sixtus Senen- 
sis has published them in his Bibliotheque, p. 89, 90; and it is from 
thence that the present translation is made. Baronius, Bellar- 
ininp, Dr. Cave, Spanheim, and others, contend that they are not 
genuine. 

65. Perfection, Gospel of, Eniohan. Heres. 26. n. 2. 

66. Peter, Acts of, Euseb. Hist. 1/S. Athanas. in Synops. 
Philastr. Pleres. 87. Hieron. Catalog, in Petro. Epiphun. Heres. 
IS. n. 16. 

67. Doctrine of, Origen in prefat. de Princip. 

68. Gospel of. Scrap, de Evangel. Petri apud Euseb. Histor. 
1. 6. c. 12. TertuU. advers. Marcion. 1.4. c. 5. Euseb. Hist. I, 
S. c. 3. Hieron. in Catalog. Vir. Illust. de Petro. 

69. Judgment of, Ruffin, Exposit. in Symbol. Apostol. s. 36. 
Hieron. Catalog, de Vir. Illust* de Petro. 

70. Preaching of, Origen in Joan. Clemens Alex. Strom. 11. 1, 
S, 6. Thendoret Byzant. in excerpt. Lactant. 1. 4. c. 21. Eu- 
seb. Hist. 1. 3, c. 3. Hieron. Catalog. Vir. lUust. de Petro. It 



fXTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. l?ft 

is very probable, this book was the same as the Gospel by Mark.* 

71. Revelation of, Clem. Alex. Hjpotjpos. apud Euseb. Hist. 
I. 6. c. 14. Theodoret. Byzant. Ectog. p. 806. Euseb. Hist. I. 
J. c. 3. c. 25, Hieron. Catalog, c.e Vir, Illust. de Petro- 

72. Philip, the Acts of, Geiasius in Decret. 

73. Gospel of, Epiphan. lieres. 26. n. 13. 

74. Scjthianusj Gospel of, Cjrl. Catech. 6. Epiphan. Heres. 
66. n. 2. 

75. Selucus, the Acts of. the Apostles bj, Hieron. Epist. ad 
Chroinat. et Heliod. 

76. Stephen, Revelation of, Gel as. in Decret. 

77. Tatian, Gospel of, Euseb. Hist. i. 4. c. 29. 

78. Thautieus, The Gospel of, Gelas. in Decret. 

79. Themison, the Catholic Epistle of, Euseb. Hist. I. 5. c. 18. 

80. Thomas, the Acts of, Epiphan. Heres. 47. n. !• and 61.. 
1. Athanas. in Synops. Gelas. in Decret. 

81. Gospel of, Origen in Luc. 1. Euseb. Hist. 1. 3. c. 25. 
Cyrl. in Catech. 4 and 6. Ambros. in Luc. 1. Athan. in Synops. 
Hieron. Prefat. Comment, in Matth. Gelas in Decret. 

82. Revelation of, Ibid. 

75. Books under the name of, [nnocent 1. in Decret.^. 

04. Truth, the Gospel of,. Ireneas advers. Heres. I. 3. c. II.. 

85. Valentinus, the Gospel of, . TertulL de prescript, advers. 
Herit. c. 49. 

The above Catalogue added to the number of books in the re- 
ceived Canon, amount to about 112, or avoiding all repetition of 
allusion, about 100 books; ail of which have made pretensions to 
divine authority, however diversiHed their claims may have been. 
Tlie number might have been augmented, had we descended to la- 
ter times; but we have confined the catalogue to those books which 
were in circulation, within the three first centuries after Christ. 
Out of this list, about 68 books have perished, except a few frag- 
ments. It is altogether probable that they sulfered in the auto da 
F.'sof the Orthodox Fathers and Councils of the fourth century. 

From the above catalogue of books, it will be easily perceived, 
that it is extremely dilScult to settle tlie Canon of the New Tes- 
timent. The Jews can assert with great assurance, that their 
Canon of Scripture was settled by Ezra, on the return from the 
Babylonian Captivity, but we can fix no period, sooner than the 
fourth century, wheii the number of the books of the New Testa- 
ment became definite. To settle the Canon of the Old Testament, 
we have only to disprove a few obscure books, but in the New 
Testament, we are led to excluileagreat number of books of vast- 
ly superior claims to any of the apocryphal books of the Old^ . 
Moreover the Catalogue of Jewish Scriptures was published by 
Melito Sardensis and others soon after the destruction of Jerusa- 
|iem; and copies of the Jewish scriptures were preserved by the 
-■^' See page 167 of this work. 



180 INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

Christians, almost from the very foundation of Christianity: and 
to every objection against the Old Testament, we can reply, we 
admit no other books than those which were extant in the days of 
Christ, and approved by him and his apostles. 

Bolingbroke and Hobbs would maintain, that the Canon of the 
New Testament was not fixed till the Council of Laodicea, A. D. 
S64| but that the books now called apocryphal, were miscellaneous- 
ly cited with the present acknowledged Scrijtures, until that late 
period. — —Nor can this position be overthrown by any historical 
facts of which we are in possession. Indeed it would be premature 
to fix even that period, for a definite and uniform catalogue: for the 
famous decree of Pope Gelasius, excludes 26 books from the Can- 
on of the New Testament, so late as the year 494, which was ISO 
years after the decisions of Laodicea. Hence the Apocryphal 
books did not wholly fall into disrepute, till a kind of uniformity 
of religion became established through the secular power of the 
Roman Clergy. 

The great question "Whether any of the above list ought to 
have a place in the received Canon?" remains to be considered. 
Here modesty and sincerity demands a place which we cannot re- 
fuse them: and we are led to say we are ignorant of the real mer- 
its of many of these books; for it is beyond our power to deter- 
mine: because many of the books no longer subsist, and the testi- 
mony of antiguity concerning them, seems too prejudiced and ca- 
pricious to be implicitly received. But in relation to the apocry- 
phal books, which are still extant, we unhesitatingly concur in the 
descisions of those who excluded them from the received Canon. 
We believe them unworthy the appellation of Scriptures.* Drs. 
Ijardner and Whitby speak with great assurance on this subject. 
They were most certainly well acquainted with the traditions of 
the ancients, and men of great and extensive learning. They in- 
form us, that these books ^^ere not much used among the early 
christians; that they are not once cited by any of the apostolical 
Fathers, by which they mean Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Her- 
mas, Ignatius, and Polycarp, whose writings include a period of 
near 40 vears, closing with the eighth year of the se<:ond century; 
that Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, who succeeded the apostolical 
Fathers, in the second centurj^, make no mention of any other 
gospels than the four: and thouoji they quote largely from these 
gospels, never cite any passage from any other books, than those 
contained in the present Canon. That Clemens Alexandrinus is 
the first who refers to other gospels, but says there were/owr gos- 
pels received by the Church; and that there were some who would 
rather follow any thii.g than the true Evangelical CanonA OrigenJ 
and Euitebiusll mention that there were other gospels, not of the 

'■'^S'le \Vl)itb}'s preface to the four Gospels and Lardner's works, vol. 5. p. 
412. fClera. Ales. Strom. 3. |Homii. 1. Proem. Luc. |!Hist. Eccles. 
1. 3. c. 25. 



INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. l8l 

Church but of the Heretics, which had no testimony from those 
ecclesiastic persons, who continued down the genuine gospels to 
them in succession; and that the doctrine contained in them was 
much different from the Catholic doctrine. They particularize the 
gospels of Thomas, Peter, Matthias, Egyptians, and the Acts of 
Andrew, John, and others, wliicli they disapprove. 

That a number of spurious pieces, containing foolish and ridic- 
ulous statements, should have been composed at an early period, 
and should have been partially received, is- a thing so likely to have 
occurred in regard to a subject so geuTeraliy interestiiig as Chris- 
tianity, that it need excite no surprise, and cannot occasion any 
real discredit except to the authors of such Vv'ritings. It appears 
from the preface to St. Luke's Gospel, that many, at that early pe- 
riod, had undertaken to write histories of Jesus Christ and his 
Apostles. The variety of pieces in circulation ultimately found 
their just estimation, according to tiie evidences which accompa* 
nied them of genuineness and credibility: and this was the only 
way in which the canon of the New Testament was formed. No 
restriction was attempted by the Apostles upon the liberty which 
every one had of composing writings which he might conceive cal- 
culated to edify the church; they laid claim to no monopoly of in- 
spiration, nor aid they form any list or canon of authorised books. 
No council of the church undertook this task during the lapse of 
several centuries. The volume of the New Testament was grad- 
ually collected from different quarters in which the authenticated 
writings of the apostles were deposited: and so carefully was the 
discrimination made, that, although several of the pieces contain- 
ed in our present canon Vv'ere disputed, owing to some slight defect 
of evidence, it admits of the most satisfactory proof, that no piece 
now excluded from it was ever generally received as sacred. 

Many men of distinguished character have had discourses made 
for them which themselves knew nothing of, and actions imputed 
to them which they never performed: and eminent v/riters have 
often had works imputed to them of which they were not the au- 
thors. Nevertheless, very few impostures of this kind have pre- 
vailed in the world, all men being unwillins; to be deceived, and 
m-uiy being on their guard, and readily exerting themselves to de- 
tect and expose such things. Many things were published in the 
name of Piautus which were not his. Some works were ascribed 
to Virgil and Horace which were not theirs. The Greek and Ro- 
man critics distinguished the genuine and spurious wurks of those 
famous writers. The primitive Christians acted in the like man- 
ner; they did not presently receive every thing proposed to them; 
they admitted nothing which was not well recomme.ided. Says 
Serapion, Bishop of Antioch, in his examination of the Gospel of 
Peter, "'We receive Peter and the other apoe.tles, as Christ, b t 
as skilful men, we reject those writings which are faldcly ascribed 
to them." 



182 iNTEGRIITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

Judging of books according to the rules suggested by Mr. Jones 
and others, we find no difficulty in determining the fate of most, 
if not all the apocryphal books now extant. Thebe rules are as 
follow: 

1 That book is spurious which contains histories or doctrines 
contrary to those which are knov^n to be true. 

2. Those books are apocryphal which contain contradictions, 
fabulous or silly stories, or which abound in trilling narratives. 

3. Those books are apocryphal which contain things of later 
date than the time in which the supposed author livedo or whose 
style idiom, dialect, or temper is dilt'erent from the known idioni^ 
dialect, or temper of the supposed author and his country. 

4. Those books are deemed apocryphal which are for the most 
part stolen or transcribed out of others. 

5. That book is greatly to be doubted which is not found in the 
Syriac and Italic versions, nor in the catalogues of the eminent 
Fathers and Ecclesiastical writers of the third and fourth centu- 
ries. 

When these rules are applied to the apocryphal New Testa- 
ment, all its pretensions vanish as smoke, and the sincere intelli- 
gent Christian feels thankful to God for the wisdom manifested m 
the present selection. 

If it be asked, why the Fathers have so frequently cited or refers 
red to the apocryphal books.^ it is answered: Sometimes the Fathers 
make use of the apocryphal books to avoid the charge of ignorance 
or partiality, and sometimes, through tlie desire of disputing with 
their opponents on acknowledged principles, drawn from their owu 
books. Such are the reasons assigned by Origen and Ambrose in 
their comments on Luke's preface. 

In relation to the apocryphal New Testament, we would say, that 
no books yet exhibited to the world, under the appellation of apoc- 
ryphal, can cast any reflection on those who denied them a place in 
the received Canon: for the writings of the apostolical Fathers 
are but poor compositions and most miserably interpolated, alter- 
ed, and abused; and the other parts of the apocryphal Testament 
abound with silly and manifestly forged stories, evidently formed 
for purposes unworthy of a Divine revelation, aad intended to 
teach some doctrine contrary to those which are known to be true* 
Such are the foolish things related in the Gospels of Mary and 
the Infancy about the miraculous and immaculate conception of 
Mary and her power of working miracles, and the Divine honors 
which she received. Equally absurd and trilling are the silly le- 
gends about the useless and even injurious miracles wrought by 
Jesus when an infant, his disputes with his school master about 
learning his alphabet, and his profound skill in Astronomy and 
Physics. 

The letter of Abgarus represents that monarch as professing 
faith in Christ as God, and yet inviting him to the protection m 



iXTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 185 

nis city; as if Almighty power could not defend itself without 
walls cr military implements. The letters of Paul and Seneca 
represent Paul as enti^ating Seneca not to ventyre-any iustruc- 
tions to Nero concerning the Christiai; religion, and again he ad- 
vises him to take convenient opportunities to insinuate the Chris- 
tian religion to Nero and his family; whilst Seneca represents Ne- 
ro as favorable to Christianity. The Gospel of Nicodemus intro- 
duces twelve Jews as refusing to swear because of a law that for- 
bids swearing, and afterwards elders, scribes, priests and Levites 
are all brought in swearing by the life of Cesar witliout any scru- 
ple. Moreover who will believe the s<-ory in this book of Christ 
going to hell to sign Adam and th^i Patriarchs with the cross, who 
had all remained in hell till that time! 

'•Such are tfie ccmpositicns which attempted to gain credit, as 
the real productions of the Apostles and Evangelists; and so stri- 
king is the contrast between them and the genuine writing-^, whose 
style they unsuccessfully endeavoured to imitate. It deserves the 
most serious considerations of every one, who is unhappily preju- 
diced against Clnistianity, or (what is almost as fatal) who has liith- 
erto not thought the subject worthy his attention, whetlier, if the 
canonical books of the New Testament had been the productions 
of artifice or delusion, they would not have resembled those, which 
are avowedly so, in some of their defects. Supposing it, for a 
moment, to be a matter of doubt, by whom the canonical books 
were written, or allowing them the credit, which is granted to all 
other writings having the same external authority, that of being 
written by the authors whose names they have always borne; upi n 
either of these suppositions, the writers of the New Testament 
could not, either in situation or attainment, have had any advan- 
tages, humanly speaking, which the authors of the apocryphal 
books were not as likely to have possessed as themselves: conse- 
quently, if ihe first books had been founded upon the bas^s of fic- 
tion, it is surely most probable, that subsequently attempts would 
have equalled, if not improved upon, the first efforts of imposture. 
If, however, it appears, upon a candid and close investigation, that 
one set of composiJions betrays no proofs of a design to impose up- 
on others, and no marks that the authors were themselves deceiv- 
ed; while on the contrary, the others evince in every page the 
plainest symptoms of mistake and fraud; is it fair, is it reasona- 
ble, to ascribe to a common origin, productions so palpably and 
essentially difterent.^ or rather, is it not more just, and even phi- 
losophical, to respect truth in those performances, which bear the 
fair stamp of her features; and to abandon those, and those only 
to contempt, which have indubitable traces of imposture ?'** 

2. Are all the books admitted into the present volun^e of the 
New Testament of equal authority? 

* See iVIalt'i}'a Illustrations p. 65, and IIorDe on the Scriptures, vol. 1. ap- 
Dendix No. 5. 



184 INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

Euseblus makes an important distinction in relation to the books 
of the New Testament, and divides them intotno dsi^ies: acknowl- 
edged and disputed. The acknowledged were ^\\% four Gospels, the 
Acts, the thirteen Epistles of Paul, and the first of John and first 
of Peter- The disputed books were Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 
and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation.* Such v/ere the views of the 
Primitive Christians.^- But though this was the general opinion 
of the Christian Church, most of the books of the New Testa- 
ment were rejected in their turn by different sects in the early ages 
and some of them in later times. 

The Alogians rejected the Gospel of John, believing that it was 
composed by Cerinthus-t Severus and his sect rejected the Acts 
and all Paul's epistles. :|: The flbionites and Helche?aites disavow- 
ed the whole of PauTs writings. || Marcion and his followers re- 
jected all the New Testament, except Luke's Gospel. § Manf- 
cheus and his followers rejected ail t\\Q books of the New Testa- 
ment ,as spurious.^ 

Among the professedly orthodox, a variety of opinion prevailed 
concerning the books of the present Canon. Origen's catalogue 
omits James a!id Jude; the catalogues of Cyril, Gregory Nazian- 
zen, Philastrius, and thj council of Laodicea omit the Revelation; 
and Jerome doubts of Hebrews, whilst Philastrius rejects it, and 
Eusebius says the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the second of Pe- 
ter were doubted even by the orthodox themselves. The cata- 
logues, however, of Ruffin, Athanasius, Epiphanius, Augustine, 
and the third council of Carthage contain the same- number of 
books as the received Canon of the New Testament. 

By the rules we have given for distinguishing the greni/iwc from 
ihe spurious books, we are led to doubt the authority of 2 Peter^ 2 
and 3 John^ Jude, and the Revelation: These books were disputed 
in the early age of the Christian Church, as we learn from Euse- 
bius and Dr. Lardner — and they were manifestly rejected by the 
first compilers of Canonical Scriptures, seeing they are excluded 
from the Syriac Version. We conceive they ought not to have 
a place in the New Testament, and therefore refuse their authori- 
ty both in faith and manners. In the second Epistle ascribed to Pe- 
ter, there are evident allusions to some apocryphal and, we appre- 
hend, fabulous book, without any caution or notice; and the style 
becomes clearly difterent. In the Epistle of Jude, allusions are 
♦also made to apocryphal writings and it lacks in all the internal 
marks of genuineness. In respect to tlie Revelation, it is mani- 
festly a book of enii»:mas, and no revelation at all. Moreover, 
Dionysius, a learned and eminent Father and critic in the early 
age of Christianity, savs the Revelation differs essentially from 
the acknowledged writings of John, in sentiment, manner, and 
^See Enseb. Hist- Eccles, L. 3. C. 3. 25. fxVugust. de Heres 30. Epiph- 
an. ^Teres. 51. :^E:ns-h. Hht. L. 4. 29. ||Ibia. L. 3. C. 27. ^EpiplJ^n. 
Heres. 42. HAngust. Contra, Faust. Mar.ich. L. 32. C. 2. 



tXTEGHlTY OF THE NEW TESTAMKXT. . 185 

expression; that John never names himself in the genuine writings, 
but this writer, whoever he may have been, names himself John, in 
several places of the Revelation; and that no allusion is made in 
the revelation to the Gospel or Catholic Epistle, nor in them to it; 
and that the writings of John are pure and correct, but the style 
of the revelation is degraded by barbarisms and solecisms. We 
therefore unite in the judgment of Dr. Lardner, that '■Hhese books 
should not be alleged as affording sufficient proof of any doctnne.^^ 

Notwithstanding, that we may not appear prejudiced or partial, 
we will here insert the apology of Bishop Blackall for these dispu- 
ted books. "There is good evidence from antiquity, that these 
controverted books,* were received in the earliest times by those 
who had the best opportunity of satisfying themselves of their au- 
thority and authenticity; viz. by the persons to v/hom they were 
sent, and by the Greek Church in general. It is no wonder that 
these books, being written either to Christians dispersed,! or else to 
private persons, living perhaps at a great distance, were not easi- 
ly attested. On this account they were not at first so generally re- 
ceived as the other books which were either written to particular 
churches to which the author's hand and the persons that brought 
them were well known, or which were published and received in 
the places where they were written. But even those churches, 
who for some time doubted of their authority, were afterwards per- 
suaded to receive them as authentic writings of the apostles, or oth- 
er inspired men. Whilst they doubted, they had reason for doing 
so; but their conduct in receiving them afterwards, is proof that 
they had then obtained sufficient evidence of their authenticity: 
and their change of opinion shows the care of the first Christians 
in receiving books into the canon of scripture, and also that the 
evidence for the authenticity of these books had then become com- 
plete. The backwardness of some churches to receive these dis- 
puted books, is a corroborating evidence of the authority of all 
the books of the New Testament: for it is evident the first chris- 
tians were not too credulous." 

3. Have the words of scripture been transmitted to us, in primi- 
tive purity? This question receives a full answer from Kenne- 
cott's ''State of the Hebrew Text," from the various readings of 
about 1200 MSS. of the Old Testament, which have been collated, 
and from the editions of the New Testament, by Mill, Wetstein, 
and Griesbach. Hence the honest and intelligent reviewer of the 
history and present state of the sacred Text, has abundant cause 
to conclude with Le Clerc,t "we have reason to thank God, who 
wills that our faith should not depend on this or that place of scrip 
ture, which might have been changed by the neglect or wickedness 
of Theologians and transcribers; but the great agreement of the 

* Namely, the Epistle to the Hebrews, James, second Peter, second and 
third John, and the Revelation, f And consequcDtiy only published by giv- 
jnj copies to some to be commimicated by opportucitv to others. JAis critica. 

9A 



186 INTEGKITY OF THE XEW TESTAMENT. 

books, on all necessary subjects, removes every doubt from our 
minds of -any general corruption.'' 

In my '"Systematical Theology," I have shown from the highest 
authorities, that many parts of the New Testament have been 
interpolated and corrupted, by designing theologians and trans- 
cribers. Amongst the diiTerent passages which have suffered most, 
we have noticed chiefly those relating to the person and history 
of Jesus. Much has been done to make the scriptures speak the 
language of certain theologians, in the third and fourth centuries, 
on these subjects. One of the most early and noted frauds of the 
first ages, is the history of the miraculous conception, inserted in 
the Christian scriptures, at the commencement of the Gospel His- 
tory, as narrated by Matthew and Luke. We have no evidence 
that this story was placed in any MS- of the genuine Gospels, soon- 
er than the close of the second or commencement of the third cen- 
tury. Tatian, who composed a harmony of the Four Gospels, in 
172, makes no mention of the miraculous conception: but in the 
third, we find Julius Africanus attempting to reconcile the gene- 
alogies, by the supposition, that the one speaks of the natural, and 
the other the legal descent. This was perhaps the first eflbrt of 
this kind, to call away the attention of the unwary reader fiom 
the subject: but it has supplied, since that time, many a grave 
Theologian with a quietus instead of a remedy, and left the inqui- 
rer with an assertion of a bad tendency, instead of an explanation. 

We have elsewhere stated, that if Jesus were only the Son of 
Mary, there could be no propriety in giving the genealogy of Jo- 
se[)h; nor is there any evidence that our Lord sprang from Judah: 
consequently the claims of the Messiah, founded on the ancient 
prophecies, as well as the testimonies of his apostles are lost, 
and the evidence of the Christian Religion is overthrown. The 
probability of Mary belonging to the tribe of Levi, is rendered al- 
most certain from the concurrent testimony of the apocryphal 
books. The Gospel of the birth of Mary,'' and the Prot-Evange- 
iion of James, describe Mary as daughter of tlie Priest Joachim, 
and not at all of the tribe of Judah: and t'lese Gospels seem just 
as well entitled to credence, as the first chapters of Matthew and 
Luke: and just as good authority do these books afford of the mi- 
raculous conception of Mary, as of her Son Jesus, the Christ. 

If our Lord sprang not from the tribe of Judah, there is no rea- 
son to believe him the Messiah; and if not, the christian religion 
must tall with this first pillar, or ground of our faith. A late 
writer in the ^'Gospel Advocate," would have us believe that it 
was of no importance whatever, whether our Lord sprang of Jo- 
seph and Mary, or of Mary alone! but assigns no leasons for this 
assertion. Would he have us believe that all the prophecies rela- 
tive to our Lord's descent from the house of David, were of no 
importance? or would he have us believe his assertion, that Mary 
was of the house of David, without any proof, while the voice of 



IXTEGRITY OF THE KEW TESTAMENT. 187 

antiquity is clearly against it? But this writer, feeling the defect 
of argument on his side of the question, betakes himself to the old 
beaten path of clerical assumption, and rashly affirms, there is 
as good reason for rejecting all the gospels, as any part of them; and 
that it is improper and dangerous, to disturb the common faith of 
Christians, on this subject. Who would suppose such language 
proceeded from one who had spent the latter part of his life, in an 
effort to overturn one of the main pillars of popular opinion? But 
wisdom is justified of her children; and the folly of irrational res- 
triction, betrays the symptoms of a bad cause, or dishonesty in 
its maintainance. 

The doctrine of the miraculous conception h£s always been a 
cause of reproach to the Christian religion. Julian and Porphyry 
both object to the genealogies, and point out defects: and of later 
times these chapters have afforded subject for contemptuous and 
irreverent abuse of the gospel history. Should then, an unnatur- 
al and inconsistent fabrication, remain bound in the volume of the 
New Testament, that aiTords no help to the christian cause? 

The copies of Matthew's gospel used by the Cerinthians had not 
this story, nor the Genealogy. The copy of the Hebrew Gospel 
of Matthew, which Jerome obtained from the Christians in Pales- 
tine, had not these two chapters. Nor were they ever known to 
have an existence in any books, used as scripture by the Jewish 
Christians. The copies of Luke's Gospel used by the Marcion- 
ites, wanted the story of the miraculous conception, and began at 
the commencement of the third chapter, as that gospel stands in 
the present English Version. Moreover as Theodoret informs us, 
that Tatian's gospel was read in the churches in the fiftli century, 
it is clear thnse spurious chapters were not acknowledged as scrip- 
ture, at that late period.* 

It is unnecessary to notice the mistakes ot these fabulous intro- 
ductions, they are too palpable to escape observation bv the learned. 
In my lecture on the miraculous conception, I have noticed anach- 
ronisms and inconsistences sufficient to overthrow the credibility of 
these histories, awd will therefore now only mention one or two 
particulars. The pretended Matthew, »ays there were only/awr- 
ieen generations from David till the carrying away into Babylon, 
and that Jehoram begat Uzziah; both of v/hich assertions are false: 
for there were seventeen generations during that period and Uzzi- 
ah was the third generation from Jehoram, being the son of Ama- 
siah. Moreover this writer places only 27 generations between 
David snd Chri-t, and allows the long space of 40 years to each 
generation, but Luke counts 42 generations during the same 

*See my lecture on the miraculous conception. No. 12. "Systematical 
Theology!" Professer Bauer, of Altorf, in Germany, boldly affirms that thu 
narrative of the miraculous conception, recorded in Matlhcr/ and Luke, is u 
Philosophical Jlythos, or fable of later date! See hia "Brevarium TLpoJc- 
g-ing BiblicTB,'' p. 243. Lcipsic, 1803. also Dr. William's ^'^rec lnf]viry/'' 



188 INTESaiTY OF THE XEW TESTAMENT. 

time, allowing an average of about 26 years, which comes near t& 
truth and experience, whilst'the calculation of the false Matthew, 
alike outrages that of Luke, and Sir Isaac Newton, whose reckoa- 
ings nearly agree. 

According to the pretended Matthew, Christ was horn at least 
two years before the death of Herod, but according to the preten- 
ded Luke, he was not born till Cyrenius was governor of Syria, 
some ten or twelve years after Herod was dead; for Archelaus 
who succeeded, Herod, reigned ten years before his banishment; 
and the taxation did not take place, accor'iing to Josephus and oth-. 
er historians, till after the banishment of Archelaus. Hence the 
two writers disagree about twelve years in the date of Christ's birth, 
but this is not so great a discrepancy, as that between their cata- 
logues of names from David to Christ; for therein they differ, ff- 
Uen generations^ without making any two names agree. Besides 
both the genealogies are of Joseph, and not of Mary, for we have 
no other authority for Mary being of the tribe of Judah and fam- 
ily of David, but a modern assertion or vague hearsay. We have 
re-examined the subject since the publication of our lecture on 
the Miraculous Conception, and find all we had said strengthened 
and confirmed by our late investigation. 

We assent to the scriptures, as the sacred records of the doc- 
trines, laws, precepts, &c. of that divine Revelation which God 
has been pleased to communicate to man; but we maintain, that no 
man has a right to dictate to another, what is revelation, or what 
books ought to be received by him and what rejected. The Inter- 
nal evidence of genuineness, and the favorable testimony of anti- 
guity, is the strength of evidence in behalf of any book's claims 
to authority, as scripture. On the same principles, therefore, bj 
which we receive or reject books, professedly sacred, we receive 
or reject any part of said books. 

The Doxology, Matth. vi. IS, is the next passage of importance, 
which fails in evidence of genuineness, Wetstein, Griesbach, 
and the most eminent critics reject the whole of this doxology, as 
having no claim to be considered a pai t of the sacred Text, It is 
omitted by most of the Greek and Latin Fathers — It is wanted in 
the Vatican and Cambridge MSS. One of the ancients says it is 
part of a liturgy, but no part of scripture. Matthew and Luke, 
therefore, agree more nearly, a»d the addition in the common co- 
pies of Matthew should be rejected. There appears to have been 
several efforts made by transcribers to reconcile Luke to Matthew 
in the cifferent parts of this prayer, but the words of Luke, freed 
from interpolations, are as follow: '^Father, sanctified be thy name^ 
Thy reign come. Give us our daily bread according to our daily ne- 
cessities; and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who are in- 
debted to us; and lead us not into tempation.^^ Hence, the phrases 
*^who art in heaven,'^^ ^Hhy ivill be done, as in heaven, so in earth,-^ 
^^bui deliver mfrom eviV are all additions of annotators and trans- 



INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 189 

cribers, who have thereby sought to render the reading in Luke 
agreeable to that in Matthew. Newcombe, finding the discrep- 
ancy between Matthew and Luke so great, supposes our Lord 
gave this form of prayer at different times to his disciples, and 
thereby accounts for the difference of expression. Be the matter 
as it may, there appears evident marks of fraudulent dealing with 
the sacred Text. 

The last twelve verses of Mark's gosnel call our attention, in 
the third place, as very probably an addition made to the sacred 
text, by some traditionist of early age. Griesbach says this pas- 
sage is wanted in the Vatican MS. and in almost all the more an- 
cient and accurate Greek books. It is marked by a star in some 
copies and found as a scholion in others. According to Jerome 
there were few Greek copies, which he had seen that had these 
verses, and they were not included in the canons of Eusebius- 
The account was thought to be irreconcilable with the report of 
the other Evangelists concerning our Lord's Resurrection. This 
passage has proved highly embarrassing to Harmonists, and its 
genuineness becomes peculiarly suspecp9:j for the following rea- 
sons: Mark rarely deviates from the tract pursued by his precur- 
sors, Matthew, and Luke. Indeed he seems to be almost a mere 
copiest, in many places, transcribing the words of the other Evan- 
gelists without variation, and at other times, adding a short plirase 
or comment, illustrative of his author's meaning; acting rather 
the part of an abridger, than of an original historian. The au- 
thority of Mark's testimony is wholly derived from Matthew and 
Luke, whom he follows in a most servile manner. His history 
however is valuable, as a neat compend of the other, and an evi- 
dence of their authority and genuineness. What seems unfavor- 
able to the authenticity of this passage is, that here he departs from 
his usual authorities: but perhaps he was led to this deviation from 
a discrepancy in the reports of Matthew and Luke. 

The fourth passage, which attracts attention, is the famous his- 
tory of the adulteress, in the beginning of the eight chapter of 
•John: the fifty-second verse of the seventh chapter, and the 
twelfth of the eighth, form a perfect connexion; and give no cause 
for supposing that any thing is wanted, to fill any hiatus, for there 
exists none. The passage is wanted in the Alexandrine, Vatican, 
and other ancient MSS. It is also wanted in the Syriac and Cop- 
tic versions, and left wholly unnoticed by Origenand Nonnus who 
wrote commentaries on John. The MSS. which have it, exhibit 
the passage in such a confused, irregular manner, as no where else 
occurs; and as it is not found in MS^. of the first antiquity and au- 
thority, it has no just claims to a place in the canon of scripture.* 

The conclusive of John's Gospel comes next in place. The 
two last verses are clearly the addition of some persons, perhaps 
the church at Ephesus, bearing testimony to the truth of the nar- 

* See Griesbach and Dr, Clarke in Loc». 



19^ INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

rative contained in the foregoing history. Hammond, Newcombc, 
and Clarke believe these verses to be the attestation of the Asiat- 
ic Bishops or church at Ephesus; but Le Clerc and Grotius re- 
ject the whole chapter. Notwithstanding, if according to the 
opinion of D\\ Clarke, we transpose the two last verses of the 
twentieth chapter to the end of the twenty-first, and then allow 
the two last verses of the twenty-first to be the attestation of the 
Church, which has become improperly amalgamated with the his- 
tory of John, all will be, at least seemingly, consistent; but the 
two last verses must, on ail hands, be considered an unjustifiable 
addition. It is worthy of remark, that though it amounts to con- 
siderable probability of genuineness, when a reading is supported 
by the early MSS. and versions, yet it by no means can be urged 
as decisive. It will not therefore be admitted, that the history of 
the Miraculous Conception is a narrative of facts, merely be- 
cause it has a place in early Manuscripts and versions; for here is 
a passage supported by the highest authority of both MSS. and ver- 
sions, and is, notwithstanding, most undoubtedly spurious: and 
its existence in early MSS. is only an evidence of its early inser- 
tion, but not of its genuineness. 

The last passage which I shall here notice, is the famous trinl- 
tarian fraud, found in 1 John v. 7. This passage is so completely 
disavowed by all who have any pretence to critical knowledge, 
that its advocates are either so ignorant or stupidly obstinate as 
no longer to merit attention. For a full refutation of its claims, 
see lecture fifth. Systematical Theology. 

1. Besides the above, there are many interpolations of minor 
importance, which ought not to be tolerated. Some times trans- 
cribers and editors of the sacred text have added or interpolated 
words, to make one passage of scripture more like another, 
to which it had some resemblance. Thus some transcriber or 
commentator finding Matth. xv. 8 to resemble Is. xxix. IS, inter- 
polated these words: ' draweth nigh to me with their mouthy and/'' 
with a view to make Matthew's quotation agree with the original 
pas^sage: and on finding some similarity of expression or circum- 
stance between Matthew xxvii. 35, and Ps. xxii. 29, he refers to 
the Old Testament, interpohiting these words. '' That it might be 
fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet^ they parted my garments 
among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.^^ Now as these 
two passages are totally unsupported by the MSS. and versions, 
though they be the words of canonical scripture, no transcriber 
had a right to intrude them on Matthew, as part of his history, 
seeing they were not in the original copy. 

Attempts have also been made by transcribers, to make the 
Evangelists correspond one with another. Hence much labor v/as 
bestowed by interpolators, on the Lord's prayer given by Luke, 
to make it read according to the text of Matthew. Some trans- 
criber finding the eleventh verse of the sixth chapter of Mark, to 



IKTEGRITV OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 191 

be the same as the fourteenth of the tenth chapter of Matthew, 
and that Mark had not noticed the denunciation contained in the 
fifteenth verse of the same chapter, inserts at the end of the eleven 
verse in Mark, the following addition: ''^Verily I say unto you, 
it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judg- 
nienty than for that city,^^ Now the evidence of the MSS. and Ver- 
sions decisively pronounce this passage a spurious corruption of 
Mark's text, though it is found in Matthew. After the same 
'manner, and no doubt for the same purpose, some transcriber in- 
serted the words, ^'Take eat,^^ in 1 Cor. xi. 24, to cause Paul 
to cite the words of Christ verbatim as they are found in Matthew 
and Mark; whereas the original words of the Apostle were exact- 
ly in accordance with those of Luke xxii. 19. But as these words 
are wanted in the ancient versions and MSS. of this Epistle, their 
insertion is totally unwarranted. In John i. 2r, the phrase, '^v^ho 
is preferred before we," is interpolated, by some transcriber to make 
that verse agree with the 15th and SOth of the same chapter: and 
in Rev. i. 11, the words, ^'F am Alpha and Omega,^^ are interpola- 
ted from the 8th verse, and then the annotation is added, 'Hhe first 
and the last;^^ meaning that Alpha and Omega were the first and 
last letters of the alphabet, and the whole is placed in the eleventh 
verse, as the genuine writing of the original text. This was no 
doubt done with a view of uniformity on the one hand, and of 
strengthening the orthodox faith on the other. But the true read- 
ing of the eighth verse according to Griesbach, or if you will, ac- 
cording to the Alexandrine, Vatican, and many other ancient MSS. 
the Complutensian edition, the Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, Armeni- 
an, Slavonic, and Vulgate Versions, is, "/a/w Alpha and Omega^ 
saith the Lord God^*^ — and the reading of the eleventh verse, on 
the same authority is, ^''Saying, what thou seest, ivrite in a book.'*'' — 
The tv/o passages are very dissimilar, in the true or genuine 
copies; the speaker of the eighth verse is the great Jehovah, whilst 
the speaker of the eleventh is Jesus his messenger. 

2. Another means, by wiiich the text became corrupted, was 
the attempts of the transcribers to explain certain phrases, per- 
haps by marginal glosses, which afterwards got into the text. Thus 
in Matth. xxv. 13, the original text stood, ''''Watch therefore^ for ye 
know neither the day nor the hour:'''' but some transcriber, thinking 
the time not sufficiently definite, added, '•''voherein the Son of man 
cometh;^^ which is manifestly an interpolation, disavowed by the 
testimony of all the best MSS and versions. Again in John vi. 
22, where it is said ^Hhe people saw there zcas no other boat there,^^ 
the transcriber interpolates, by way of explanation, ^^but that in 
which the disciples were entered.^^ So where Paul said Rom. viii. 
1. There is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Je- 
sus some transcriber or commentator added, ^^loho walk not af- 
ter the flesh, but after the spirit.^^ Also in John xi. 41, the original 
passage stood simply: ^ ''then they took away the stone;-- to which 



19^ INTEORITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

some transcriber added, " 1^'Tiere the dead was laid:-^ then to make 
out the sense, our translators inserted the words ''from the place ^'^^ 
all of which are licentious triflings with the words of scripture. 

3. This liberty was afterwards extended to the explanation of 
phra&es, according to the analogy of thefaith; that is, according to 
the opinion of the transcriber or commentator. One of the most 
harmless attempts of this kind that ever was made, occurs Luke 
ix. 56: ^^For the son of man is not come to destroy men^s lives, but 
to save them.'''' Notwithstanding as these Mords were not suppor- 
ted by the proper evidences of genuineness, however agreeably to 
the analogy of Faith, no transcriber had a right to insert them in 
the iQui of Luke. Explanatory phrases of a worse tendency have 
been interpolated, in different parts of the scriptures: Thus with 
a view to represent Jesus the Creator of ihe world, some enthusi- 
ast added the words, "% Jesus Christ, to Ephes. iii. 9. To con- 
firm the doctrine of vicarious sufferings and bloody sacrifices, as 
substitutes for virtue, a similar attempt is made Coloss. i. 14, by 
the insertion of the phrase, ''Hhrough his blood,^^ which is totally 
void of all authority. Again to extend the notion of these vica- 
j-ious sufferings to an infinite degree, an incarnate Deity is judged 
necessary, and the word, God, must therefore be inserted in Acts 
XX. 28, 1 Tim. iii. 16, and 1 John iii. 16. But as I have noticed 
most of those passages which have been interpolated for orthodox 
purposes, in my Systematical Theology, I refer to that work. 

Having made these observations which 1 believed necessary and 
impartial, I shall proceed to show that we have satisfactory evi- 
dence for the integrity and uncorruptedness of the New Testa- 
ment in every thing material or essential to the Christian doctrine. 

L The uncorrupted preservation of the New Testament is 
manifest from its contents; for, so early as the two first centuries 
of the Christian sera, we find the very same facts, and the very 
same doctrines, universally received by Christians, which we, of 
the present day, believe on the credit of the New Testament. 

2. Because a universal corruption of those writings was both impossi- 
ble and impracticable^ nor can the least vestige of such a corruption be 
found in history. They could not be corrupted during the life of 
their authors; and before their death copies were dispersed among 
the different communities of Christians, who were scattered 
throughout the then known world. Within twenty years after the 
ascension, churches were formed in the principle cities of the Ro- 
man empire; and in all these churches the books of the New Tes- 
tament, especially the four Gospels, were read as a part of their 
public worship, just as the writings of Moses and the Prophets 
were read in the Jewish synagogues.* Nor would the use of them 

*Dr. Lardner has collected numerous instances! in the second part of his 
Credibility of the Gospel History; references to which may be seen in the 
general index of his works, article Scriptures. See particularly the testimo- 
aiesof Justin Martyr. TertulUan, Origeu, and Augustine. 



INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 193 

be confined to public worship; for these books were not, like the 
SybilUne Oracles, locked up from the perusal of the public, but 
were exposed to public investigation.. When the books of the 
New Testament were first published to the world, the Christians 
would naturally entertain the highest esteem and reverence for 
writings that delivered an authentic and inspired history of the life 
and doctrines of Jesus Christ, and would be desirous of possess- 
ing such an invaluable treasure. Hence, as we learn from un- 
questionable authority, copies were multiplied and disseminated 
as rapidl}^ as the boundaries of the church increased: and trans- 
lations were made into as many languages as were spoken by pro- 
fessors, some of which remain to this day; so that it would very 
soon be rendered absolutely impossible to corrupt these books in 
any one important word or phrase. Now it is not to be supposed 
(without violating all probability,) that all Christians should agree 
in a design of changing or corrupting the original books; and if 
some Qn\y should make the attempt, the uncorrupted copies would 
still remain to detect them. And supposing there was some error 
in one translation or copy, or something changed, added, or taken 
away; yet there were many other copies and other translations, 
by the help of which the neglect or fraud might be, or would be 
corrected. 

Further, as these books could not be corrupted during the life 
of their respective authors, and while a great number of witness- 
es was alive to attest the facts which they record; so neither could 
any material alteration take place after their decease, without be- 
ing detected while the original manuscripts were preserved in the 
churches. The Christians who were instructed by the apostles or 
by their immediate successors, travelled into all parts of the world, 
carrying with them copies of their writings, from which other co- 
pies were multiplied and preserved. Now, we have an unbroken 
series of testimonies for the genuineness and authenticity of the 
New Testament, which can be traced backwards, from the fourth 
century of the Christion aera to the very time of the Apostles: 
and these very testimonies are equally applicable to prove its un- 
corrupted preservation. Moreover harmonies of the four Gospels 
were anciently constructed; commentaries were written upon 
them, as well as upon the other books of the New Testament (ma- . 
ny of which are still extant,) manuscripts were collated, and edi- 
tions of the New Testament were put forth. These sacred rec- 
ords, being universally regarded as the supreme standard of truth, 
were received by every class of Christians with peculiar respect, 
as being divine compositions, and possessing an authority belong- 
ing to no other books. Whatever controversies, therefore, arose 
among different sects (and the church was very early rent with 
fierce contentions on doctrinal points,) the Scriptures of the New 
Testament were received and appealed to by every one of them, 
as being conclusive in all matters of controversy: consequently it 

'25 



1^4 INTEGKITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENr. 

was morally impossible, and in itself impracticable, that any man 
or body of men should corrupt or falsify them, in any fundament- 
al article, should foist into them a single expression to favour their 
peculiar tenets, or erase a single sentence, without being detected 
by thousands. "If one party was inclined either to omit what 
opposed their peculiar tenets, or to insert what might afford them 
additional support, there was always some other party both ready 
and willing to detect the fraud. And even if they persevered in 
altering their own manuscripts, they had n©t the power of altering 
the manusripts in the hands of their opponents. Though the cor- 
ruption, therefore, might be partial, it could not become general. 
Nor must we forget that the books, which compose the Greek Tes- 
tament, have been transcribed, beyond all comparison, more fre- 
quently than the works of any other Greek author. And it is ev- 
ident that the difficulty of corrupting the Greek manuscripts must 
have increased with every increase in their number. Though it 
cannot be denied, therefore, that there is stronger temptation to 
alter a work, which relates to doctrines, than to alter a work, 
which relates to matters indifferent, the impediments to the alter- 
ation of the Greek manuscripts were still more powerful than the 
temptation. The Gospels, which were written in different places, 
and the Epistles, which were addressed to different communities, 
were multiplied in copies, dispersed in Palestine and Egypt, in 
Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. Under such circumstances a gen- 
eral corruption of the Greek manuscripts was a thing impossible, 
for it could not have been effected without a union of sentiment, 
which never existed, nor without a general combination, which 
could not have been formed, before Christianity had received a civil 
establishment. But if such a combination had been practicable, 
it could not have been carried into effect, without becoming a mat- 
ter of general notoriety: and ecclesiastical historians are silent 
on such a combination. The silence of history is indeed no argu- 
ment against the truth of a fact established by induction, if the 
fact was such that it could not be generally known. Bnt the si- 
lence of history is important in reference to a fact, which, if it ev- 
er existed, must have been a subject of general notoriety. What- 
ever corruptions, therefore, may have taken place in the Greek man- 
uscripts, those corruptions must have been confined to a few, and 
could not, by any possibility, have been extented to them all."* 
Indeed, though all the Christian doctors, who were dispersed 
throughout the world, should have conspired to corrupt the New 
Testament, yet the people would never have consented to it; 
and if even both teachers and people had been disposed to have 
committed such a fraud, most unquestionably their adversaries 
would not fail to have reproached them with it. The Jews and 
Heathens, whose only aim it v/as to decry and put down their re- 
ligion, would never have concealed it. Celsus, Porphyry, Julian. 
*Bp. Marsh's Lectures, part vi. pp. 10, U- 



IXTEGRITY OF THE IsEW TESTAMENT. 1^5 

* 

and other acute enemies of the Christians, would have derived 
some advantage from such corruption. In a word, even though 
the silence of their adversaries had favoured so strange an enter- 
prise, yet the different parties and various heresies, which soon af- 
ter sprung up among Christians, were an insuperable obstacle to 
it. Indeed, if any material alteration had been attempted by the 
orthodox, it would have been detected by the heretics: and, on 
the other hand, if a heretic had inserted, altered, or falsified any 
thing, he would have been exposed by the orthodox, or by other 
heretics. It is well known that a division commenced in the fourth 
century, between the eastern and western churches, which, about 
the middle of the ninth century, became irreconcileable, and sub- 
sists to the present day. Now it would have been impossible to 
alter all the copies m the eastern empire; and if it had been pos- 
sible in the east, the copies in the west would have detected the 
alteration. But, in fact, both the eastern and western copies agree, 
which could not be expected if either of them was altered or fi\l- 
sified. The uncorrupted presertation of the New Testament is 
further evident. 

3, From the agreement of all the manuscripts. The manuscripts of 
the New Testament, which are extant, are far more numerous 
than those of any single classic author whomsoever: upwards of 
three hundred and fifty were collated by Griesbach, for his cele- 
brated critical edition. These manuscripts, it is true, are not all 
entire: most of them contain only the Gospels; others, the Gos- 
pels, Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles; and a few contain 
the Apocalypse or Revelation, of John. But they were all writ- 
ten in very different and distant parts of the world; several of 
them are upwards of twelve hundred years old, and give us the 
books of the New Testament, in all essential points, perfectly ac- 
cordant with each other, as any person may readily ascertain by 
examining the critical editions published by Mill, Kuster, Bengef, 
Wetstein, and Griesbach.* The thirty thousaiidvaiv'ious readings, 
which are said to be found in the manuscripts collated by Dr. Mill, 
and the hundred and fifty thousand which Griesbach's edition is 
said to contain, in no degree whatever effect the general credit 
and integrity of the i^ni. In fact, the more copies are multiplied, 
and the more numerous the transcripts and translations from the 
original, the more likely is it, that the genuine text and the true 
original reading will be investigated and ascertained. The most 
correct and ancient classics now extant are those, of which we 
have the greatest number of manuscripts; and the most depravedy 
mutilated, and inaccurate editions of the old writers are those of 
which we have the fewest manuscripts, and perhaps only a single 
manuscript, extant. Such are Atheuseus, Clemens Romanus, 

*For an account of the priocipal manuscripts of the New Testament, see 
Home on the Scriptures, Vol. ii. Part i. Chap. ii. Sect- ii, 5 4. and of the 
critical editions mentioned in Part i. Chap. iii. vSect. ii. 



196 INTEGRITY OF THE NE^y TESTAMENT. 

Hesychlus, and Photius. But of this formidable mass of various 
readings, which have been collected by the diligence of collators, 
not one tenth — nay, not one hundredth part, either makes or can 
make any perceptible^ or at least any material alteration in the 
sense in any modern version. They consist almost wholly of pal- 
pable errors in transcription, grammatical and verbal differences, 
such as the insertion or omission of an article, the substitution of 
a word for its equivalent, and the transposition of a word or two 
in a sentence. The very worst manuscript extant would not pervert 
one article of our faith, or destroy one moral precept. All the omis- 
sions of the ancient manuscripts put together could not counte- 
nance the omission of one essential doctrine of the Gospel, rela- 
ting either to faith or morals^ and all the additions countenanced 
by the whole mass of manuscripts already colFated, do not intro- 
duce a single point essential either to faith or manners beyond 
what may be found in the Complutensian or Elzevir editions. 
And, though for the beauty, emphasis, and critical perfection of 
the letter of the New Testament, a new edition, formed on Gries- 
bach's plan, is desirable; yet from such an one infidelity can ex- 
pect no help, false doctrine no support, and even true religion no 
accession to its excellence— as indeed it needs none. The gener- 
aluniformity, therefore, of the manuscripts of the New Testa- 
ment, which are dispersed through all the countries in the known 
world, and in so great a variety of languages, is truly astonishing, 
and demonstrates both the veneration in which the Scriptures have 
uniformly been held, and the singular care which was taken in 
transcribing them; and so far are the various readings contained 
in these manuscripts from being hostile to the uncorrupted preser- 
vation of the books of the New Testament (as some sceptics have 
boldly affirmed, and some timid Christians have apprehended,) 
that they afford us, on the contrary, an additional and most con- 
vincing proof that they exist at present, in all essential points, 
precisely the same as they were when they left the hands of their 
authors." 

Dr. Bentley well observes,* * 'If there had been only one man- 
uscript of the Greek Testament at the restoration of learning, 
then we would have had no various readings at all. Had this been 
the case, would the test have been in a better condition than it 
now is in Mill's edition, where we have 30,000 various readings? 
So far otherwise, that the best copy extant would have contained 
hundreds of faults and omissions irreparable. Besides the sus- 
picions of fraud and foul play would have been increased immens- 
ly. It is good, therefore to have more authors than one; and a 
second manuscript joined to the first gives more authority and se- 
curity! 

Now chuse that second manuscript where you will, there shall 
be a thousand variations from the first: and yet half or more of the 

* Discourse ©d Free Tbinking-, by Philoleutherus Lipsiensis. 



INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 19T 

faults will remain in them both. A third, therefore, era fourth and 
so on is still desirable, that by a mutual help, all the faults may 
be mended; and as some copies preserve the true reading in one 
place, and some in another, the more copies you call to assist- 
ance, the more do the various readings multiply: every copy hav- 
ing its peculiar slips, though in a principal passage or two, it may 
be of no particular service. This is a fact not only in relation to 
the New Testament, but also in all ancient books whatever. It is 
therefore a good providence and a great blessing that so many 
MSS. of the New Testament are still among us: some procured 
from Egypt, some from Asia, others found in the western Church- 
es; for the very distance of places as well as the number of books, 
demonstrate, that there could be no collusion, nor altering, nor 
interpolating one copy by another, nor all by any one of them. 

In profane authors (as they are called) where only one MS. had 
the good luck to be preserved, as Vellius Paterculus among the 
Latins, and Hesychius among the Greeks, the faults of the Scribes 
are found so numerous and the defects beyond all redress, that 
notwithstanding the pains of the most learned and accute critics 
for two whole centuries, these books are still, and are likely to con- 
tinue, a mere heap of errors. On the contrary, v/here the copies 
of any author are numerous, though the various readings always 
increase in proportion, there the text, by an accurate collation of 
them, made by skillful and judicious hands, is ever the more cor- 
rect, and comes the nearer to the words of the original author. 

Terence is now in one of the best conditions cf any of the clas- 
sic writers. The oldest and best copy of Terence is now in the 
Vatican Library, and comes nearest to the poet's own hand: but 
even that has hundreds of errors, most of which may be mended 
out of other examplars that are otherwise more recent and of in- 
ferior value. I, myself, have collated several, and do affirm, that 
I have seen twenty thousands various lecti&ns in that little author not 
near so large as the New Testament: and I am morally sure, 
that if half the number of MSS. were collated for Terence, with 
that niceness and minuteness which has been used in collating the 
New Testament, the number of the various readings would have 
amounted to above 50,000! 

In the MSS of the New Testament, the variations have been 
noted with a religious, not to say a superstitious exactness. Eve- 
ry difference of spelling, in the order and collation of words, has 
been studiously registered. Nor has the text only been ransack- 
ed, but all the ancient versions; the Latin Vulgate, Italic, ^the- 
opic, Arabic, Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, and Saxon; nor these 
only, but all the dispersed citations of the Greek and Latin Fa- 
thers, in a course of 500 years. What wonder then, if with all 
this scrupulous search, the varieties rise to 30,000, when in all 
ancient books of the same bulk of which the MSS. are numerous, 
the variations are as numerous or even more so: though there be 
no versions to swell the reckonins;. 



198 INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

The Editors of the Profane Authors do not trouble their read- 
ers, or risk their own reputation bj any useless list of small slipsj 
committed bj a lazy or ignorant scribe. What is thought com- 
mendable in an edition of scripture, and has the name of fairness 
and fidelity, would in them be deemed impertinence and trifling. 
Hence the reader not versed in ancient MSS. is deceived into an 
opinion that there were no more variations than the editor has no- 
ted: whereas if the same scrupulousness were observed in regis- 
tering the smallest changes in profane authors as is required in sa- 
cred, the present formidable number of thirty thousand various rea- 
dings^ furnished by Dr. Mill, would appear a very trifle! 

Books in verse are not near so obnoxious to variations as prose^ the 
transcriber, if he is not wholly ignorant and stupid, being guided 
by the measures, and prevented from such alteration as do not con- 
sist with the laws of verse: and yet in the Poets, the variations 
are so numerous as can hardly be conceived without use and expe- 
rience. In the edition of Tibullus by the learned Broukhuise, 
there is a register of the various lections at the end of the book, 
where may be seen, at first view, that the number of readings 
equal the number of lines in that book. The same is visible in 
Plautus, edited by Paraeus. I, myself, during my travels, have 
had the opportunity of examining several MSS. of the Poet, Man- 
ilius, and can affirm that the variations, T have met with, are twice 
as many as all the lines of that book. Add to this that the num- 
ber of MSS. were few in comparison, and then imagine what the 
number of lections would amount to, if ten times as many were 
accurately examined. Notwithstanding in these and all other 
books, the iz^X is not made more precarious, on that account, but 
more certain and authentic. 

It should be considered that if a corrupt line or dubious reading- 
chances to intervene, it does not darken the whole context, nor 
make an author's opinion or purpose precarious. Terence, for in- 
stance, has as many variations as any book, in proportion to its 
bulk, and yet with all its interpolations, omissions, additions and 
glosses, chuse the worst of them on purpose, and you cannot de- 
face the contrivance and plot of one play, no not of a single scene. 
Its sense, design, and subserviency to the last issue and conclu- 
sion, will be visible through all the mist of the various reading. So 
it is with the sacred Text. Make your 30,000 readings as many 
more, if the number of copies can ever reach that sum; all the 
better for a knowing and serious reader, who is thereby more rich- 
ly furnished, in order to select what he perceives is genuine. But 
suppose the worst, put them into the hands of a knave or fool, and 
yet with the most sinistrous and absurd choice, he shall not extin- 
guish the light of one chapter, nor disguise Christianity, but that 
every feature of it will be the same." 

4. The last testimony, to be adduced for the integrity and incor- 
ruptness of the New Testament, is furnished by the agreement of 



INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 199 

the ancient versions and quotations frojn it, which a.ve mside in the 
writings of the Christians of the first three centuries, and in those 
of the succeeding fathers of the Church. 

The testimony of versions, and the evidence of the ecclesiastic- 
al fathers, have already been noticed as a poof of the genuineness 
and authenticity of the New Testament. The quotations from 
the New Testament iu the writings of the fathers are so numer- 
ous, that (as it has been frequently observed) the whole body of 
the Gospels and Epistles might be compiled from the various pas- 
sages dispersed in their commentaries and other writings. And 
though these citations were, in many instances, made from memo- 
rj> yet, being always made with due attention to the sense and 
meaning, and most commonly with regard to the words as well as 
to the order of the v/ords, they correspond with the c Tginal rec- 
ords from which they were extracted: — an irrefragable argument 
this, of the purity and integrity with which the New Testament 
has been preserved. The idle objection, therefore, to the uncor- 
ruptness of the New Testament, which some opposers of divine 
relation have endeavoured to raise, on an alleged alteration of the 
Gospels in the fourth century by order of the Emperor Anastasi- 
us, falls completely to the ground for want of proof. Nor do we 
hazard too much in saying, that if all the ancient writings now 
extant in Europe were collected together, the bulk of them would 
by no means be comparable to that of the quotations taken from 
the New Testament alone; so that a man might with more sem- 
blance of reason, dispute whether the writings ascribed to Ho- 
mer, Demosthenes, Virgil, or Caesar, are in the main such as they 
left them, than he could question whether those of Matthew, Mark, 
Luke, John, Peter, James, and Paul, are, leally their productions. 

The remarks of Dr. Bentley, were occasioned by the illegal 
use made of Dr. Mill's various readings by Mr. Collins. Dr. 
Whitby, terrified at the report of .30,000 various readings, imagin- 
ed the only way to save Christianity, was to deny the report, and 
if possible, to disprove and vilify the elaborate and enlightened 
criticism of the indefatibable Mill: but far otherwise, the illustri* 
ous and accurate Bentley. His experience, as a classical critic, en- 
abled him duly to estimate the invaluable treasure of sacred criti- 
cism, accumulated to a prodigious extent by Mill, and rather than 
disparage a work to which, probably, even his own great mind 
could have never attained, he applauded the labors of Mill and 
hoped to see them vigorously prosecuted by some worthy succes- 
sor. Wetstein and Griesbach have arisen as the brightest Satel- 
lites of the Christian Luminary, and obtained an everlasting mem- 
ory, among all who have learning enough to perceive their merits and 
honesty sufficient to confess their obligation. They have prosecu- 
ted the criticism of the New Testament till Miirs 30,000 various 
readings have accummulated to the immense number of 150,000!i 

When some men assert that the text of Griesbach is by no means 



■200 ir^TEtRlTY Ob THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

more perfect than the vulgar copy of the Elzevirs; and that no 
essential doctrine of scripture was, in the least, obscured bj the 
errors of the former editions, we can easily perceive to what sect 
of Christians such commentators belong. No man can deny, but 
that the doctrine of the Divine Unity stands in glorious majesty in 
Griesbach, while the light of revelation, on this all important sub- 
ject, sinks to twilight in the Received Text from which the present 
translations have been made.— -Sweep away, therefore, from the 
ramparts of Christianity, every refuge of lies! Let its authentic 
documents be produced, free from fraud and corruption; they will 
manifest themselves all lovely and divine, worthy the wisdom and 
goodness of God to bestow, and of the highest attainment of hu- 
man intellect to admire, love and revere. 

None should be surprised to find that corruptions have entered 
the sacred text, for attempts were made to introduce pious frauds, 
even in the apostolic age. But let all honest, and enlightened 
Christians, especially Ministers and Commentators of the sacred 
oracles, adopt the language and feel the Spirit of the Great Apos- 
tle of the Gentiles, the chief propagator, and the most powerful 
defender of the Christian cause: " Wc are not as many who corrupt 
the word of God; but as of sincerity, in the sight of God, we have 
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, 
nor handling the word of God deceitfully; hut by manifestation of the 
truth, commending ourselves to every man^s conscience, in the sight of 
God.'' 



INSPIRATION OF THE SACRED WRITERS. 

Inspiration may be defined, the communication of divine knowl- 
edge to the mind,' which could not have been attained by the exer- 
cise of its faculties in a natural way. Theologians speak of la- 
spiration in fourfold degree. 

I. Inspiration of elevation^ where the faculties seemingly act in 
aregular manner, but are raised toan extraordinary degree, so that 
the composition shall be more excellent, sublime, and pathetic than 
natural genius could attain. It must be allowed that in several 
passages of Scripture, there is found such elevation of thought 
and of style, as clearly shows the powers of the writers were rai- 
sed above their ordinary pitch. If a person of moderate talents 
should give as elevated a description of the majesty and attributes 
of God, or reason as profoundly on the doctrines of religion, as a 
man of the most exalted genius and extensive learning, we could 
not fail to be convinced that he was supernaturally assisted; and 
the conviction would be still stronger, if his composition should 
far transcend the highest eftbrts of the human mind. Some of the 
sacred writers were taken from the lowest rank of life; and yet 
sentiments so dignified, and representations of divine things so 
grand and majestic occur in their writings, that the noblest flights 
of human ggnius, when compared with them, appear cold and 
insipid. 

2. Inspiration of superintendency , in which the Divine Being so 
influences the mind as to preserve it more secure from error in a 
complex discourse than it could have been by the use of its natur- 
al faculties. There are many things in the scriptures, which the 
writers might have known, and probably did know, by ordinary 
means. As persons possessed of memory, judgment, and other 
intellectual faculties which are common to men, they were able to 
relate certain events in which they had been personally concerned, 
and to make such occasional reflections as were suggested by par- 
ticular subjects and occurrences. In these cases no supernatural 
influence was necessary to invigorate their minds; it was only ne- 
cessary that they should be preserved from error. It is with res- 
pect to such passages of Scripture alone, as did not exceed the 
natural ability of the writers to compose, that I would admit the 
notion of superintendence. The passages written in consequence 
of the direction and under the care of the Divine Spirit, may be 
said, in an inferior sense, to be inspired; whereas if the men had 
written them at the suggestion of their own spirit, they would not 
have possessed any more authority, though they had been free from 
error, than those parts of profane writings which are agreeable to 
truth. 

There are parts of the Scriptures in which the faculties of the 
writers were supernatu rally invigorated and elevated. It is im- 
possible for us. and perhaps it was not possible for the inspired 

26 



^0)2 l\Si?IRATION OF THE SACRED WRITERS. 

person himself, to determine where nature ended and inspiration 
began. It is enough to know, that there are many parts of the 
Srripture in which, though the unassisted mind might have pro- 
ceeded some steps, a divine impulse was necessary to enable it to 
advance. I think, for example, that the evangelists could net 
have written the history of Christ if they had not enjoyed mirac- 
ulous aid. Two of them, Matthew and John, accompanied our 
Saviour during the space of about two years At the close 
of this period, or rather several years after it, when they wrote 
their Gospels, we may be certain that they had forgotten many of 
his discourses and miracle*; that they recollected others indistinct- 
ly; and that they would have been in danger of producing an in- 
accurate and unfair account, by confounding one thing witk anoth- 
er. Besides, from so large a mass of particulars, men of uncul- 
tivated minds, who were not in the habit of distinguishing and 
classifying, could not have made a proper selection; nor would 
persons unskilled in the art of composition have been able to ex- 
press themselves in such terms as should ensure a faithful repre- 
sentation of doctrines and facts, and with such dignity as the na- 
ture of the subject required. A divine influence, therefore, must 
have been exerted on their minds, by which their memories and 
judgments were strengthened, and they were enabled to relate the 
doctrines and miracles of their Master in a manner the best fitted 
to impress the readers of their histories. The promise of the Holy 
Spirit to bring to their remembrance all things whatsoever Christ 
had said to them, proves, that in writing their histories, their men- 
tal powers were endowed, by his agency, with more than usual 
vigour. 

5. Plenary superintendency, which excludes every mixture of 
error from the work. This degree of inspiration, so strenuously 
maintained in former ages, is not, at present, urged by almost any 
calm Divine of accurate Judgment or extensive learning. 

4. Inspiration of suggestioUy by which God speaks directly to 
the mind, and dictates the very words in which the discoveries 
arecommunicated, the faculties being entirely superceded. ''It is 
manifest, with respect to many passages of Scripture, that the sub- 
jects of which they treat must have been directly revealed to the 
writers. They could not have been known by any natural means, 
nor was the knowledge of them attainable by a simple elevation 
©f the faculties. With the faculties of an angel we could not 
discover the purposes of the divine mind. This degree of inspi- 
ration we attribute to those who were empowered to reveal heav- 
enly mysteries, 'which eye had not seen, and car had not heard,' 
to those who were sent with particular messages from God to his 
people, and to thx)se who were employed to predict future events. 
The plan of redemption being an effect of the sovereign counsels 
of heaven, it could not have been known but by a communication 
from the Father of Lights,'- 



iXSPIRATION OF THE SAGRED WRITERS. £05 

This kind of inspiration has been called the inspiration of sug- 
gestion. It is needless to dispute about a v/ord; but suggestion 
seeming to express an operation on the mind, by which ideas are 
excited in it, is of to® limited signification to demote the various 
modes in which the prophets and apostles were made acquainted 
with supernatural truths. God revealed himself to them not only 
bj suggestion but by dreams, visions, voices, and the ministry of 
angels. This degree of inspiration, in strict propriety of speech, 
should be csdled revelation; a word preferable to suggestion, be- 
cause it is expressive of all the ways in which God communicated 
new ideas to the minds of his servants. It is a word, too, chosen 
by the Holy Spirit himself, to signify the discovery of truths for- 
merly unknown to the apostles. The last book of the New Tes- 
tament, which is a collection of prophecies, is called the Revela- 
tion of Jesus Christ. Paul says that he received the Gospel by 
revelation; that 'by revelation the mystery was made known to him,, 
which in other ages was not m-ade known unto the sons of men, as 
it was then revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spir- 
it,' and in another place having observed that *eye had not seen^ 
nor ear heard, neither had entered into the heart of man the things 
which God had prepared for them that love him,' he adds, *'But 
God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit,"* 

The manner in which divine inspiration was afforded to the sa- 
cred writers is not to be minutely described. God is sovereign 
in all his ways: and as he spake at sundry times, so has he com- 
municated information in divers manners: yet may we be enabled 
to conceive of the mode of communication, by reflecting on what 
is said by the inspired writers themselves on this subject. 

1. Sometimes it is said, the word of the Lord came to the proph- 
ets', and as we convey our thoughts to the minds of others, by cer- 
tain impressions made on their brains'by means of articulate sounds^ 
God may reveal his will to any persons by making such impress- 
ions on their brains as will excite particular ideas: and as we dis- 
tinguish a voice or hand-writing by use, so God may give such ev- 
idences as to assure us that it is the voice of unerring wisdom. 

Some argue that every man, who hath attended to the operations 
of his own mind, knows that we think in words, or that, when we 
form a train or combination of ideas, we clothe them with words; 
and that the ideas which are not thus clothed, are indistinct and. 
confused. Let a man try to think upon any subject moral or reli- 
gious, without the aid of language, and he will either experience a 
total cessation of thought, or, as this seems impossible, at least 
while we are awake, he will feel himself constrained, notwith- 
■tanding his utmost endeavors, to have recourse to words as the 
instrument of his mental operations. As a great part of the 
Scriptures were suggested or revealed to the writers; as the thoughts 
or sentiments, which were perfectly nsw to them, ^fere conveyed 

^*Ga]. i. 12, Epbes. ii.^5, and 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10. 



204 INSPIRATION OF THE SACHED ^n^ITERS. 

into their minds bj the Spirit, it is plain that they must have been 
accompanied with words proper to express them; and consequent- 
ly, that the words were dictated by the same influences on the 
mind which communicated the ideas. The ideas could not have 
come without the words, because without them they could not 
have been conceived. A notion of the form and qualities of a 
material object may be produced by subjecting it to our senses; 
but there is no conceivable method of ihaking us acquainted with 
new abstract truths, or wdth things that do not lie within the sphere 
of sensation, but by conveying to the mind, in some way or other, 
the words significant of them.— In all those passages of Scripture, 
therefore, which were written by revelation, it is manifest that the 
-words were inspired; and this is still more evident with respect to 
those passages which the writers themselves did not understand. 
No man could write an intelligible discourse on a subject which 
he does not understand, unless he were furnished with the w^ords 
as well as the sentiment; and that the penmen of the Scriptures 
did not always understand what they wrote, might be safely infer- 
red from the comparative darkness of the dispensation under 
vrhich some of them lived; and is intimated by Peter, when he 
says that the prophets ''inquired and searched diligently what, and 
what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did 
signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and 
the glory that should follow, "t 

2. Sometimes the prophet is called a Seer, and the communi- 
cation, a vision; and as it is as easy to present an object to the 
view, as to describe it by words, so God may dart an impression or 
light upon the brain, which shall give us clear ideas as impressions 
made on the eye or ear: and as impressions made by the view are 
stronger than those communicated by sounds through the ear, the 
Jews held that the prophecy by vision, was more excellent than by 
dream, in which a voice is heard. Hence Prophecy was commu- 
nicated by 1 drearn^ 2 vision, 3 voice, or 4 suggestion."^ 

''When it is said, that Scripture is divinely inspired, we are 
not to understand that God suggested every word, or dictated ev- 
ery expression. From the different styles in which the books are 
■written, and from the manner in which the same events are rela- 
ted and predicted by different authors, it appears that the sacred 
penmen were permitted to write as their several tempers, under- 
standings, and habits of life, directed, and that the knowledge 
communicated to them by inspiration on the subject of their wri^ 
tings, was applied in the same manner as any knowledge acquired 
by ordinary means. Nor is it to be supposed that they were even 
thus inspired in every fact which they related, or in every precept 
which they have delivered. They were left to the common use of 
their faculties, and did not upon every occasion, stand in need of 

*See Acts x. 11, 17, 20, and xri. 9; 1 Cor. ii. 7, 10; 2 Cor. xii. 2: Ga^ 
i. n,12. fl Pet. i. 10, 11. 



IKSPIRATIOX OF THE SACRED WRITERS. 1205 

supernatural communication; but whenever, and as far as, divine 
assistance was necessary, it was always afforded. 

That the authors of the historical books of the Old Testament 
were occasionally inspired, is certain, since they frequently dis- 
play an acquaintance with the counsels and designs of God, and 
often reveal his future dispensations in the clearest predictions. 
But though it is evident that the sacred historians sometimes 
wrote under the immediate operation of the Holy Spirit, it does 
not follow that they derived from Kevelation the knowledge of 
those things, which might be collected from the common sources 
of human intelligence. ludeed, the historical books were written 
by persons, who were for the most part contemporary with the 
periods to which they relate, and had a perfect knowledge of the 
events recorded by them; and who in their descriptions of char- 
acters and events (of many of which they were witnesses) uni- 
formly exhibit a strict sincerity of intention, and an unexampled 
impartiality. Some of these books, however, were compiled in 
subsequent times from the sacred annals mentioned in Scripture 
as written by prophets or seers, and from those public records, 
and other authentic documents, which though written by uninspired 
men, were held in high estimation, and preserved with great care 
by persons specially appointed as keepers of the genealogies and 
public archives of the Jewish nation. 

These points being ascertained and allowed, it is of very little 
consequence, v/hether the knowledge of a particular fact was 
obtained by any of the ordinary modes of information, or whether 
it was communicated by immediate revelation from God; whether 
any particular passage was written by the natural powers of the 
historian^ or by the positive suggestion of the Holy Spirit. What- 
ever uncertainty may exist concerning the direct inspiration of 
any historical narrative, or of any moral precept, contained in 
the Old Testament, we must be fully convinced that all its pro- 
phetical parts proceeded from God. This is continually affirmed 
by the prophets themselves, and is demonstrated by the indubita- 
ble testimony which history bears to the accurate fulfilment of 
many of these predictions; others are gradually receiving their 
accomplishment in the times in which we live, and afford the su- 
rest pledge and most positive security for the completion of those 
which remain to be fulfilled.'' 

Having thus far advanced in vindication of the Inspiration of 
direction or superintendence. I now proceed to expose that doc- 
trine of Plenary Inspiration^ which teaches that the writers of the 
Scriptures were under the infallible direction of the Spirit, both in ex- 
pression and sentiment; thereby representing the Evangelists as the 
mere Amanuensis of the Spirit. 

1 . Plenary Inspiration, or Inspiration of suggestion was unnecessa- 
ry. The historical parts of the Old and New Testaments needed 
no such qualifications in their writers. All the qualifications ne- 



^06 INSPIRATION OF THE SACRED WRITERS. 

cessary to a Historian are competent information, a sound judg- 
ment, and integrity of heart. Such Historians we believe the 
Evangelists to have been. Their simple, unadorned productions 
manifest their integrity; their familiar intercourse with their bles- 
sed Master, for the space of two or three years, supplied all need- 
ful information in relation to the subject of his and their divine 
message, and their own productions are sufficient proof of a sound 
understanding. Two of the Evangelists, at least, were eye-wit- 
nesses of the transactions which they record: What they had 
heard, or what they had seen, what they had handled of the word 
of Life, they faithfully declare to mankind. The others re- 
ceived the doctrines and precepts of Christianity and the report 
of its evidences from those whom Jesus had chosen to be with him 
from the beginning. Luke was in all probability one of his dis- 
ciples for some time, and also one of the two with whom Christ 
conversed on their way to Emmaus, If their qualifications were 
sufficient, why should we have recourse to causes totally unneces- 
sary to the production of the desired effect? 

When our Lord commenced his public ministry, he chose 
twelve to be witnesses of all he did and taught: and when the 
disciples met to elect one to supply the place of Judas, they say 
**of those men who have accompanied with us all the time the 
Lord went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of 
John, until that same day he was taken from us, must one be or- 
dained to be a witness with us of his resurrection."* But 
surely it would have been unnecessary to choose one who had 
been a companion of the Apostles and an eye and ear-witness of 
Christ's ministry, if the testimony he should bear to the world 
were supplied to him by inspiration? Surely, says Wakefield, 
"we should have possessed a more unequivocal sign ©f inspiration,, 
if God had appointed to record the life of Jesus, a set of men 
who had never known him or his Apostles, and who had enjoyed 
no human means of information.*' To have placed the Evangel- 
ists under this plenary inspiration would have been altogether «»e- 
less, unless all transcribers and translators were continually under 
the same influence. 

2. Tfw doctrine of plenary Inspiratian is improbable* Had the 
Evangelists been under the guidance of Divine influence, we might 
naturally expect sameness of style, purity of language, and per- 
fection in the manner as well as the matter of the sacred histories; 
nay, we should have expected all the graces and elegancies of com^ 
position, for truly the Spirit of God is not ineloquent nor of a 
slow tongue.t Nothing inaccurate, nothing ungrammatical would 
have been found in their writings: they would have set at defi- 
ance the fastidious critic, and left no doubt of their heavenly ori- 
gin. Had the Evangelists been guided by plenary inspiration, 
their narratives would have been perfectly consistent: but if theiv 

* Acts i. 21,22. iEx. iy, 10. 



INSPIRATION OF THE SACRE© WRITERS. 407 

narratives be compared in Newcombe's or Priestley's Harmony, 
every man will be qualified to judge for himself. The very fact 
that there are more histories than one, is evidence that the Evan- 
gelists did not consider themselves thus directed. Had they 
believed the Holy Spirit suggested the first history, they would not 
have attempted a second, much less would they have dared to va- 
ry their narratives. But far otherwise is the fact. The very cir- 
cumstances that there were many histories of an imperfect cast, 
formed Luke's apology for undertaking a faithful record, according 
to the narratives of competent witnesses. — And in his history, 
without making the least pretension to supernatural aid, he pro- 
fesses to be guided by the instructions of those w^ho had been eye- 
witnesses and ministers of the word. 

3. Inspiration of the above description is contrary to fact. In the 
fifteenth chapter of the Acts we have the history of a synodical 
assembly, held at Jerusalem, The Christian converts were so far 
from thinking Paul and Barnabas infallible guides, that they 
actually sent up to Jerusalem to consult the Apostles. Now how 
did the assembly act on this meraoriable occasion? Did they de- 
cide like men under the Inspiration of Suggestion? No they de- 
bated, they disputed, and afterwards agreed to what seemed the 
most prudent aad reasonable. Paul at one time tells the Corin- 
theans he had no dominion over their faith;* at another time ac- 
knowledges he spoke by permission, and not of commandment;! 
and on a third occasion resists Peter because he was blameable. J 
On one occasion the contention became so sharp between Paul 
and Barnabas, that they separated entirely.!! The discordant ac- 
counts of the sacred writers about historical facts show that they 
were not restrained by a divine influence from diversity of sentim- 
ent. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all differ considerably in their 
account of the woman who had an issue of blood. § Matthew and 
Mark say both the thieves reviled Jesus, but Luke says only one 
of them:^ whilst Johii is entirely silent on both these subjects. 
In describing the Demoniac, out of whom the demons passed into 
the swine; Matthew says there were two demoniacs, Mark only 
one, Luke and John say nothing of the matter. Matthew, John, 
Luke and Paul, all quote Isaiah, vi. 9, 10, very differently.** Had 
th«se writers been under plenary, inspiration they would surely 
have quoted scripture more accurately. By comparing the ac- 
counts of Abraham's age given by Moses and Luke, we find a 
difference of about 60 yesrsitt Matthew relates a story of a Ro- 
man guard being placed at the sepulchre of Jesus; but the story 
is unnoticed by any other historian either sacred or profane: and 

* 2 Cor. i. 24. f 1 Cor. rii. 6, 25. J Gal. ii- 11. ||Acts xv. 39. 9 Com- 
pare Matth. ix. 20, Mark v. 23, and t.uke riii. 41, 42. IT See Mat. xxvii. 
44, Mark xv. 32, and Luke xxiii. 39. ** Compare Mat. xiii. 14 15, John xii. 
40, Acts xxviii. 26, Rom. xi. viii- if See Acts vii. 4, and Gen, xi, 26, 32, 
and xii. 4. 



'"208 iNSriE^TION OF THE SACRED WRITERS- 

it must therefore be very doubtful if not spurious. These things 
ought to lower the pretensions of some obstinate sticklers for the 
doctrine of pleifary inspiration. 

4. Plenary Inspiration is injurious to the intei ests of Revelation, 
It places the credibility of the Gospel history on a foundation, 
different from that of any olher authentic history. It indeed de- 
stroys credibility by refusing the writers the character of eye and 
ear-witnesses. The discrepancies of the Evangelists and Apos- 
tles do not effect their credibility as honest witnesses, but on the 
supposition of infallible guidance, all credit is completely destroy- 
ed. It is dishonorable to the Gospel to suppose that after all the 
bright evidences attending its promulgation, it should still need 
such pretensions'.to support its authority. It debars investigation, 
divorces reason from the regions of Revelation, and leaves the Gos- 
pel to retreat like error, into the shades of darkness and mysti- 
cism. 

To conclude, the Inspiration of the scriptures, consists in the 
communications of divine truth made by God to Moses, the Proph- 
ets, and lastly to Jesus, the Christj and in that portion, direction, 
or illumination of God's Spirit, afforded to the sacred writers, 
enabling them to make a faithful record of all the important doc- 
trines and moral precepts, originally communicated by God. — 
Hence it will appear, that no more inspiration was needed in wri- 
ting the scriptures, than what was necessary to transmit to poster- 
ity, the religious instructions of the Almighty Parent of the Uni- 
verse, and therefore it will follow, that the sacred writers were 
left to express in their own language, and according to their owa 
views, the instructions which they had received; and consequent- 
ly were, in all points, not immediately connected with that revela- 
tion, liable to err as well as other men. This we believe to be a 
fair and impartial conclusion, alike advantageous to Religion and 
Science. 

Come then, O Light of lights, divine illumination, originating 
from the Great Cause of all being, without whom there is nothing 
good, nothing great, nothing wise, in the vast immensity of illim- 
itable existences, grant unto all who labour in thy vineyard, 
whether as Commentators, translators, or ministers of the sacred 
oracles, the spirit of a sound mind, of a r^ght understanding, and 
the fear of the Lord, that they, being guided into all truth, and 
feeling its divine influence on their hearts, may reflect the light, 
heat, and vivifying rays of the Sun of Righteousness upon their 
fellow-men, till all know the Lord, and the earth be filled with 
•the brightness of his Glory ! Amen. 



INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

The Testimony of Antiquity as well as the enlightened criticism 
of modern times, abundantly prove, that the sacred Scriptures 
were written in Hebrew or Hebraic- Cheek', hence it becomes indis- 
pensibly necessary, for all who would rightly understand or at- 
tempt to explain these books, to study, with great care and accu- 
racy, the languages in which it pleased the all wise and bene^- 
cent God to communicate to man the inestimable knowledge of 
things eternal and Divine. The chief office of an Interpreter is 
the investigation of words; and seeing these are used as the signs 
of our ideas, it is of primary importance to ascertain, what notion 
the author affixed to each particular wordy when he committed it to 
writing: and what idea it conveys in that particular passage, which is 
the subject of exegetical interpretation. If the work we undertake 
to interpret, be written in a dead language, an accumulation of 
difficulty will occur, according to the extent or paucity of the 
means we possess for acquiring the true signification of the words. 
extant in that language. Now the Old Testament is the only work 
which remains in the ancient Hebrew: nor have we any thing 
like a Lexicon or Glossary composed, while it was a living language, 
because it ceased to be a living language, so long ago as the Bab- 
ylonian Captivity. It is a matter, therefore, of great importance 
to know the sources from which we derive our knowledge of the 
Hebrew Language. To be reduced to the necessity of depending 
v/holly on the authority of others, for the sense of the Scriptures, 
is shameful in teachers of Religion; and therefore, to neglect to 
stud_y the originals, is altogether inexcusable. Critcism and in- 
terpretation are so closely united, that no man can be a good in- 
terpreter of the Bible, who is not previously acquainted with the 
Criticism of the Bible: for it is criticism alone, which enables us to 
judge of the genuineness, whether of words, passages, or whole 
bo»ks. So important is the knowledge of both the original lan- 
guages and the criticism of the Scriptures to the Ministers of Re- 
ligion, that without it they can scarcely assume a higher name than 
that of Theological Empires. 

As it is no longer pretended, that the style of the New Testa- 
ment is that of pure Greek, we ought duly to investigate the sour- 
ces of those idioms of language, which embarrass or obscure its 
interpretation: and as these idioms are fitly termed Hebraisms, 
Syriasms, Chaldaisms, Hellenisms, and Latinisms, we believe it ne- 
cessary, to a right understanding of the sacred Scriptures, to give a 
brief account of the Hebrew language, and also of the Syriac, 
Chaldee, and Hellenistic dialects. 

THE HEBREW. 

Many writers who have treated of the Hebrew lengnage, would 
persuade us that it was the original speech of the whole world: 



*10 iMERPRETATION OFIHE SCiaPTUIlES- 

but Gregory Nissen and others, have reprobated the opinion as a 
vain conceit of the Jews. It is most probable that the first lan- 
guage was composed of monosyllabic words, each of which would 
have a distinct ideal meaning; but if we strip the Hebrew of its 
numerous vowel-points^ affixes, and suffixes, it will still remain that 
simple, monosyllabic language till the present time; for most of 
its radical words consist of only three letters, and are subject to 
little flection or variation. Some have urged the claims of the 
Chinese language, on these principles, and allege, moreover, that 
Fohi, the founder ©f that nation was the Noah of the Bible: but 
the Hebrew names being so descriptive of the things they are used 
to represent, and there being so many traces of it in all other ori- 
ental languages, we cannot refuse it the precedency of all langua- 
ges, known to the literary world : for should we admit, with Le 
Clerc, that the primitive language is lost, still that dialect which 
approaches nearest the original, may be called the primitive lan- 
guage; and to this, none has so strong and presumptive claims as 
the Hebrew. 

It is foreign to our object, to enter into the controversy about 
the origin or formation of languages: some ascribe it to the di- 
vine instruction, others, totally to human invention, and a third 
class of writers, to the exercise, of the human faculties, supernat- 
urally assisted. On account of the longevity of the antedeluvians, 
the primitive language remained with little alteration, except a 
few additions as occasion required, till the dispersion of mankind 
at Babel:* and to that part of the world are we to look for the re- 
mains of that primitive Iqjiguage. Now the Chaldee, Syriac, Ar- 
abic, Persian, and Phenician, spoken by the people who dwelt 
nearest to Babylon are little more than different dialects of that 
language, in which we find the books of the Jewish Scriptures.-^ 
Moreover, Aram, the Son of Shem, settled that vast territory of 
country including Syria, Mesopotamia, and Chaldea, anciently 
known by the name, Aram. The Jlramic language, therefore, was 
the prestine tongue of Syria, Chaldea, and Assyria: but it became 
divided into the Eastern or Chaldee, and Western or Syriac Dia- 
lects. The boundary of Syria to the East was the Euphrates, and 
the Chaldee language was that which prevailed on the east of the 
River. When Abram, at the call of Jehovah, left Ur of the 
Chaldees and came into the land of Canaan, he was called the 
IIebreiv,f which, word according to Lightfoot, Campbell, and oth- 
ers, is derived from Ober, to pass over, because he passed the Eu- 
phrates to come into Canaan. This opinion is confirmed by the 
Septuagint, which renders the word, where it first occurs, perates 
a passenger. Hence the word, Hebrew, originally implied the lan- 
guage of those who lived beyond the Euphrates^ which is now distin- 
guished by the name, Chaldee. 

Abram and his posterity, having dwelt in Canaan about 200 

^' See Gen. xj. 1. 6, 9. ^ ^ee Gen. xiv. 13. 



INTERPRET ATIOX OY THE S€RIPTURES. 'i . 

years, forgot the Chaldee and learned the Canaanitish or Pheni- 
cian dialect or language. Accordingly we find that when Jacob 
journeyed eastward, into the land of his ancesters, he and Laban 
gave different names to the same objects.* Hence, Bochart, Wal- 
ton, and Le Clerc hare maintained that the language of the Jew- 
ish scriptures, which is always called Hebrew, is no other than the 
native tongue of the Canaanites, which is generally called Ph*ni- 
cian in Greek authors, and differs very little from the dialects of 
the Tyrians, Sidonians, and Carthagenians. Indeed Le Clerc 
greatly removes the obscurity of certain scriptures, by showing 
that the Old Testament was written in the language of idolaters, 
such as were the Canaanites; for by this supposition, we easily 
perceive the reason of the term, God, being always in the plural, 
and of hands, eyes, ears, and feet, being ascribed to the Deity. 
Moreover, the language of the Old Testament is never, in scrip- 
ture, called Hebrew^ but the language of Canaan is there fre- 
quently called the Jews' language.! That the language o/ the Old 
Testament was the same as the Canaanitish or Phenician, is evid- 
ent from the circumstances, that Jews and Canaanites had inter- 
course without any interpreter, whereas the Egyptians and other 
neighbouring nations are called people of a strange language:! and 
that the Canaanites and Phenicians were the same people and na- 
tion, is manifest from t*/e Septuagint, using the term Phenlcia in- 
stead of Canaan. II Moreover in the New Testament, tiie same 
person called, by one Evangelist, a woman of Canaan, is denom- 
inated by another Evangelist, a Syi-ophenician.^ 

From a candid survey of the arguments on all sides, we draw 
this tenable conclusion: that the language of the Hebrews, Abra- 
ham and his descendants, was always called by the Jews, Hebrew, 
without any regard to the changes it experienced; it being at one 
time Chaldee, at another Phenician, and again Chaldaic- Pheni- 
cian, ^nd finally in the timt^. of Christ, a mixture of Phenician, 
Chaldee, and Syriac, called Syr o- Chaldaic. When Abram depar- 
ted from Ur of the Chaldees, he spoke the Chaldee language, but 
that his posterity forgot the Chaldee or Aramic, and learned the 
language of Canaan is manifest from the distinction made between 
the Aramic or Syrian and the Jews' language, in several passages 
of Scripture. IJ So completely ignorant had the Jews became of 
the ancient language of their Patriarch, in the time of their kings, 
that the Chaldeans are described by the prophets, as a people whose 
language the Jews could not understand.** Again, during their 
seventy years captivity, they as completely forgot the language of 
Canaan, and learned the Chaldee, that they could not speak in the 
Jews^ language, nor understand their own scriptures, which had 
* See Gen. xxxi. 47. f See Nehem. xiii. 14, and Is. xix. 1 S, and xxvi. 1 1 , 
13. |Ps. Ixxx. 5, and cxiv. 1, and Jer. v. 15. ||Gen. xxviii. 1, 8, and xlri. 
10. Ex. vi. 15. and Josh. v. 12. tSee Matth. xv. 22, and Mark yii. t4. 
•^Set 2 Kin^s xviii. 26. Is. xxxvi. 11. =*?*See T?. yxxiii. 19; and Jer. r. 15. 



£i^ IN'TESPRETATIOK OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

been written previously to the Babyloaian Captivity.* Our con- 
clusion is, therefore, that the language of the Old Testament is 
the Canaanitish or Phenician dialect of the Hebrew; and that ia 
this dialect are written all the books of the Old Testament, ex- 
cept a few passages and chapters, in Daniel and Ezra, which are 
in the Chaldee dialect, f 

The seemingly great confusion, arising from the indefinite use 
of the term, Hebrew, both in the sacred writers and primitive Fa- 
thers, may, therefore, be easily removed by the consideration that, 
Hebrew, distinguished from Syriac and Chaldee, either means the 
language of the Israelites before the Captivity or more generally 
the mixt Hebrew after their return. What is generally called 
Hebrew in the New Testament and in the works of the Fathers, 
is the Syro-Chaldaic or language of Judea in the time of Christ: 
and as in some parts of Palestine, the Syriac prevailed, Justin 
Martyr, in his dialogue with Trypho, uses the terms, Syriac and 
Hebrew^ indifferently to denote the same language. It is said the 
Chaldee dialect prevailed in the South, and the Syriac in the North 
of Palestine; but though the forms of the letters be different, the 
correspondence between the two dialects is so close, that if Chal- 
dee be written with Syriac letters without points, it becomes Syriac, 
with the exception of a single inflexion in the formation of the 
Terbs. Hence we should not be surpris^^ on finding even the 
prophet Daniel calling the same language at one time Syriac and 
at another time Chaldee.± 

The present Hebrew characters are twenty two in number and 
being of a square form; are therefore believed to be Chaldee and 
not the Canaanitish Hebrew, From a passage in the Chronicle of 
Eusebius, "year 4740," and another in Jerome's "Preface to 1 
Kings," Joseph Scaliger inferred, that Ezratranscribed the sacred 
books from the ancient Hebrew character into the Chaldee, for 
the use of those Jews who were born during the captivity; and 
who were ignorant of any other alphabet, but that of the people 
among whom they had been educated: and, consequently, the old 
or Samaritan character fell into disuse. Indeed the Rabbinical 
writers expressly declare, that the Chaldee characters were adop- 
ted by Ezra: and all the ancient Hebrew coins, struck before the 
captivity, have their inscription in the Samaritan character. This 
opinion has been adopted and maintained by Walton, Cappel, and 
Prideaux but more especially by Joseph Dobrowsky, in his ''^Dis- 
sertation on the ancient Hebrew characters,^^ 

The Hebrew vowel-poinis, has been the subject of much debate 
among the learned, who maintain four different opinions in relation 
to their antiquity: 1. that they were co eval with the language, 
which opinion is strongly maintained by Jewish writers in gener- 
al; 2. that they were added by Ezra, when he introduced the 

* Nehera. viii. 7, 8, and xiii. 24. f See Jer. x. 1 1. Dan, ii. 4— chap. viii. 
and Ez. iv. 8—6, 10, aad yii. 12—16'. t See Dan. i. 4, andii. 4. 



INTERPRETATieX Of THE SCRIPTURES. 21S 

Chaidee character, regulated the marginal readings called Keri and 
Cketib. This is powerfully maintained by the Buxtorfs and their 
followers; 3. that they were added by the more ancient Masor- 
ites soon after Ezra, and used in their schools, in reading the lan- 
guage, but not introduced among the Rabbles, till after the com- 
position of the Talmud 5 and consequently the reading of the points 
is the true and ancient pronunciation. If this opinion were Pri- 
deaux and Elias Levita, 4 that they are altogether the invention 
of the school of Tiberias, five hundred years after Christ. This 
latter opinion seems to obtain a host of followers, among whom 
are counted Cappel, Calvin, Luther, Casaubon, Scaliger, Erpen, 
Houbigant, Walton, Lowth, and Kennicott. 

The Antipunctists affirm the letters Aleph He, Van, and Vood, 
called matres kctionis^ have always been vowels; and that the total 
absence of testimony, on behalf of the points, amounts to satis- 
factory proof that they are of late invention. They affirm that 
the Samaritan letters, ancient Jewish coins, and oldest Hebrew 
MSS. are without points; that the ancient versions, such as the 
Chaidee Paraphrases of Jonathan and Onkelos, and the Greek 
versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, but especially 
the Septuagint, read the text in many passages contrary to the au- 
thority of the points; that there are no notices of the points by 
the Talmudists, Cabbalists, ancient Jewish writers, ner early 
Christian Fathers, and that they are not used in the Keri and Che- 
tib, nor even at the present time, in the scriptures, read ia the 
synagogues, therefore they are void of authority. 

The Advocates of the points reply, that the silence of the Tal- 
muds, Josephus, Philo, and theancient Fathers, is no proof against 
the points, but only that there was no dispute about them; that 
there is ancient testimony from the book, Bahir, which says, ^Hhe 
points are to the letters, what the soul is to the hody;^^ that the 
Keri and Chetih are regulated by vowel points of the text; and 
there are many instances where the consonants of the margin are 
plainly adapted to the points in the text; therefore the points must 
have existed when th Keri were made, which would have other- 
wise been useless; that as every one was bound by the Jewish 
custom, to write or cause to be written, a copy of the law, once 
in his life, and as one blunder profaned the whele book, it was ne- 
cessary to write the Sepher- Torah, or book of the Law, without 
points to avoid blunders^ which would be inevitable, in printed 
copies; that the Septuagint differs as much from the consonants 
of the Hebrew Text as from the vowel points, and we might there- 
fore as safely conclude, the ancient Hebrew had no consonants, 
as that it had no vowel points: besides there is a number of words 
different in signification, whose consonants are entirely the same; 
and therefore translators, who follow not the points, must fall in- 
to frequent mistakes about the sense; that without the points the 
distinction between the conjugations Pihel and Puhal, is totally 



:iJi4 I-NTERPKETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

lost, and two different senses, entirely confounded; that whoever 
looks into the Septuagint and Hexapla of Origen, will be satisfied 
that the pronunciation, therein exhibited, is very different from 
any scheme ever proposed by the antipunctists 5 and finally that 
the kindred dialects of the Hebrew, as the A.rabic and Syriac, 
have more or less of the points, without which there can be no 
certain reading or interpretation of the sacred originals. 

Leaving all extravagant and arrogant assumptions out of the 
question, the most probable view of the history, is that adopted 
by Schultens, Michaelis, and Eichhorn, which is, that Hebrew aU 
yjays had some points, and that these were increased by the Mas- 
orites after the Hebrew ceased to be a living language, in order to 
preserve the pronunciation and lender the sense more definite. 
The great Synagogue of Masorites and Talmudic doctors may be 
considered as existing from the time of Ezra till the completion of 
the Talmuds about the end of the fifth century. It may there- 
fore, be supposed that the later Masorites, (though their labours 
should not be dispised) may have erred in making the useless miu' 
utiae of the points as irksome as the Talmudists have rendered 
many of their comments, foolish and ridiculous. Notwithstand- 
ing all who wish to study the Hebrew Bible, with exactness, will 
be abuHdantly rewarded for the additional labor of learning to 
read according to the Rabbinical method. The pronunciation of 
the Hebrew by the points, raises the tone and volubility of the 
sacred tongue to the majesty of the Latin and the elegance of the 
'Greeks; but, by rejecting the points, the language sinks to the 
sterility and uncouthness of barbarism. 

From this discourse we learn, that the Hebrew shared the ver- 
satility of languages in general, and experienced its ages of Gold, 
Silver, Brass , and Iron, "Every language," says Dr. A. Clarke, 
*'has been more or less confounded but that of Eternal Truth; this 
is ever the same, in all countries, climes, and ages; and like that 
God from whom it sprang, is unchangeable and incorruptible," 
However, let us adore that wisdom of the Deity, which called 
Abram into a land where his offspring, in whom all the families of 
the earth should be blessed, might publish and promulgate the doc- 
trines of Revelation, in the language and through the means of 
the most enterprising and commercial nation in the world: for the 
Phenicians carried their trade, and with it their language, and 
more or less of the Jewish religion, into all the civilized nations, 
accessible by the commerce of the Mediterranean. 

The period from Moses to David has been esteemed as the Gol- 
den age of the Hebrew; from David to Hezekiah, by the inter- 
course of the Israelites with the neighbouring nations, a mixture 
of foreign words, particularly, Arameun was introduced. This 
period is called the Silver age. The third period intervened be- 
tween the reign of Hezekiah and the Captivity, during which the 
language being neglected, became greatly corrupted by foreigs 



INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. ^2\5 

words and idioms: and the fourth age, which may denominated a 
mixture of Iron and Brass, was that which succeeded the Captivity: 

We have no reason to consider the dialect which the Jews 
brought with them from Babylon, as entirely pure: but whatever 
it might be at first it cannot be imagined, that its purity would be 
preserved five hundred years till the time of Christ, considering 
the great calamities which the Jews experienced in that interval. 
The language of the people, who inhabited Judea during the Cap- 
tivity, being chiefly Syriac, would, after the return^ soon obtain 
considerable influence in the Jews' dialect: and Judea being suc- 
cessively subjected to the Macedonians and Romans, a mixture of 
Greek and Latin words would soon be introduced. Hence what 
is called Hebrew in the New Testament, and by the early Chris- 
tian writers, is not the language of the Old Testament, spoken by 
the Jews before the Captivity, nor Chaldee, spoken at Babylon, 
nor the Syriac, spoken in the^eighbouring country of Syriaj but 
it is a mixture of all the three dialects with Greek and Latin 
words and phrases, still retaining a predominant Phenician idiora, 
and called by the general name of Hebrew, or the still more ap- 
propriate title of SyrO'Chaldaic. 

It may be thought necessary here to give some account of the 
principal sources from which we derive means of understanding 
and interpreting the Hebrew, and also some notices of the works 
which are said to remain in that language. As the Chaldee and 
Syriac are dialects of the Hebrew, we draw considerable inform- 
ation from the Syriac Version, and the Chaldee Paraphrases, 
which are still extant under the name of Targuma. The Arabic 
being also another dialect of the Hebrew, and still a living lan- 
guage, affords a fruitful source of instruction 5 and the Septuagint 
and Vulgate Versions, being early translations from the Hebrew- 
original, become useful auxiliaries, in the hands of a skillful in- 
terpreter. 

THE TALMUDS. 

The Jews after their dispersion continued to cultivate the Chal- 
dee or mixt Hebrew as a learned language, and hen^e arose those 
ponderous productions called Talmuds, which are Xo highly vene- 
rated among the Jews, though in part they are little else than use- 
less traditionary legends which, generally speaking, are unworthy 
the labor or pains of reading. 

The word, Talmud, signifies doctrine, and the book bearing this 
appellation may be considered as the grand Code of Jewish doc- 
trines and ceremonies both of a religious and civil nature. The 
Talmud consists of two parts, the Mishna or Text and the Gema- 
ra or Comment. 

1. The Mishna (or repetition as it literally signifies) is a collec- 
tion of various traditions of the Jews, and of expositions of scrip- 
ture texts, which, they pretend, were delivered to Moses during 



2i6 iNTERPRETATIOiV OY THE SCRIPTURES. 

his abod€ on the Mount, and transmitted from him, through Aaron, 
Eleazar, and Joshua, to the prophets, and by those to the men of 
the Great Sanhedrin, from whom they passed in uninterrupted suc- 
cession to Simeon and afterwards to Gamaliel, and ultimately 
to Rabbi Jehudah, surnamed Hakkadosh or the Holy. By him 
this digest of oral law and traditions was completed, towards the 
close of the second century, after the labor of forty years. Fronsi 
this time it has been carefully handed down among the Jews, from 
generation to generation; and in many cases has been esteemed 
beyond the written law itself. The Mishaa consists of six books, 
each of which is entitled order, and is further divided into many 
treatises, amounting in all to sixty-three; these again are divided 
into chapters, and the chapters are further subdivided into sec- 
tions or aphorisms. The best edition of the Mishna, unaccompa^ 
nied by the Gemara, is that of Surenhusius, in 6 vols, folio, pub- 
lished at Amsterdam, 1698 — 1708, with a Latin version and the 
Commentaries of Rabbi Moses de Bartenora, and of Maimonides. 
The Gcmar«s or commentaries are two-fold: — (1.) The Gema- 
ra of Jerusalem, which, in the opinioH of Prideaux, Buxtorf, Carp- 
zov, and other emlent critics, was compiled in the third century 
of the Christian sera; though, from its containing several barba- 
rous words of Gothic or Vandalic extraction, father Morin refers 
it to the fifth century. This commentary is but little esteemed 
by the Jews. (2.) The Gemara of Babylon was compiled in the 
sixth century, and is filled with the most absurd fables. It is held 
in the highest estimation by the Jews, by whom it is usually read 
and constantly consulted as a sure guide in all questions of difii- 
culty. The best edition of this work is that of Berlin and Franc- 
fort, in Hebrew, in 12 volumes, folio, 1715. The Jews designate 
theie comraejntaries by the term Gemara or j9er/ec?2on, because they 
consider them as an explanation of the whole law, to which no 
further additions can be made, and after which nothing more can 
be desired. V^hen the Misna or text and the commentary compi- 
led at Jerusalem accompany,each other, the whole is called the /cjm- 
sahm Talmud; and when the commentary which was made at Bab- 
ylon is subjoined, it is denominated the Babylonish Talmud The 
Talmud was collated for Dr. Kennicott's edition of the Hebrew 
Bible: and as the passages of Scripture were taken from manu- 
scripts in existence from the second to the sixth century, they are 
so far authorities, as they show what were the readings of their 
day. These tarious readings, however, are neither very numer- 
ous nor of very great moment. Bauer states that Fromman did, 
not discover more than fourteen in the Misna: and although Dr. 
Gill, who collated the Talmud for Dr. Kennicott, collected about 
a thousand instances, yet all these were not in strictness various 
lections. The Talmud, therefore, is more useful for illustrating 
manners and customs noticed in the Scriptures, than for the assis- 
tance it can afford in the criticism ©f the sacred volume/* 



THE iARGUMS. 

The Chaldee word Targum signifies, in general, any version or 
explanation; but this appellation is more particularly restricted 
to the versions or paraphrases of the Ohl Testament, executed in 
the East -x\ram sea n or Chaldee dialect, as itis usually called. These 
Targums are termed paraphrases or expositions, because they are 
rather comments and explications, than literal translations of the 
text: they are written in the Chaldee tongue, which became fa- 
miliar to the Jews after the time of their captivity in Babylon, and 
was more known to them than the Hebrew itself: so that when the 
law was "read in the synagogue every Sabbath day,'' in pure bib- 
lical Hebrew, an explanation was subjoined to it in Chaldee; in 
order to renderit intelligible to the people, who had but an imper- 
fect knowledge of the Hebrew language. This practice, as alrea- 
dy observed, originated with Ezra: as there are no traces of any 
written Targums prior to those of Onkelus and Jonathan, who are 
supposed to have lived about the time of our Saviour. It is highly 
probable that these paraphrases were at first merely oral; that, 
subsequently, the ordinary glosses on the more difficult passages 
were committed to writing; and that, as the Jews were bound by 
an ordinance of their elders to possess a copy of the law, these 
glosses were either afterwards collected together and deficiences 
in them" supplied, or new and connected paraphrases were formed. 

The language, in which these paraphrases are composed, varies 
in purity according to the time U'hen they v/ere respectively writ- 
ten. Thus, the Targums of Onkelos and the Pseudo-Jonathan 
are much purer than the others, approximating very nearly to the 
Aramsean dialect in which some parts of Daniel and Ezra were 
written, except indeed that the orthography does not always cor- 
respond; while the language of the later Targums whence the 
rabbinical dialect derives its sources, is far more impure, and is 
intermixed with barbarous and foreign words. Originally, all the 
Chaldee paraphrases were written without vowel- points, like all 
other oriental manuscripts: but at length some persons ventured 
to add points to them, though very erroneously, and this irregu- 
lar punctuation was retained in the Venice and other early edi- 
tions of the Hebrew Bible. Some further imperfect attempts to- 
wards regular pointing were made both in the Complutensian and 
in the Antwerp Polyglotts, until at length the elder Buxtorf, in 
his edition of the Hebrew Bible published at Basil, undertook the 
thankless task of improving the punctuation of the Targums, ac- 
cording to such rules as he had formed from the pointing which he 
had found in the Chaldee parts of the books of Daniel and Ezra; 
and his method of punctuation is followed in Bishop Walton's 
Polyglott. 

1, The Targum of Onkelos. — Itis not known with certainty, at 
'vhat time Onkelos flourished, nor of what nation he was: Profe*^- 



*:iS IMEllfllElATiOX OF TH£ SCRIPTURES. 

sor Eichlioni conjectures that he ^vas arjative of Babylon, first be- 
cause he is tnentioiiecl in the Babylonish Talmud; secondly, be- 
cause his dialect is not theChaldee spoken in Palestine, but much 
purer, and more closely resembling the style of Daniel and Kzra: 
and lastly, because he has not interwoven any of those fabulous 
narratives to which the Jews of Palestine were so much attached, 
and from which they could v^'ith difficulty refrain. The generally 
received opinion is, that he v/as a proselyte to Judaism, and a dis- 
ciple of the celebrated Rabbi Hillel, w^ho flourished about 50 years 
before the Christian sera; an-d consequently thatOnK:elos was con- 
temporary with our Saviour: Bauer and Jahn, however, place him 
in the second century. The Targum of Onkelos comprises the 
Pentateuch or five books of Moses, and is justly preferred to all 
the others both by Jews and Christians, on account of the purity of 
its style, and its general freedom from idle legends. It is rather 
a version than a paraphrase, and renders the Hebrew tent word for 
word, with so much accuracy and exactness, that being set to the 
same musical notes, with the original Hebrew, it could be read in 
the same tone as the latter in the public assemblies of the Jews. 
And this we find was the practice of the Jews up to the time of 
Rabbi Elias Levita; who flourished in the early part of the six- 
teenth century, and expressly states that the Jews read the laW in 
their synagogues, first in Hebrew and then in the Targum of On- 
kelos. This Targum has been translated into Latin by Alfonso 
de Zamora, Paulus Fagius, Bernardinus Baldus, and Andrew de 
Leon, of Zamora. 

2. The Targum of Jonathan Ben UzzieJ. — According to the tal- 
mudical traditions, the author of this paraphrase was chief of the 
eighty distinguished scholars of Rabbi Hillel the elder, and a fel- 
low disciple of Simeon the Just, who bore the infant Messiah in his 
arms: consequently he would be nearly contemporary with Onke- 
los. Wolfius, however, is of opinion that he flourished a short 
time before the birth of Christ, and compiled the work which bears 
his name, from more ancient Targums that had been preserved to 
his time by oral tradition. From the silence of Origen and Je- 
rome concerning this Targum, of which they could not but fiave 
availed themselves if it had really existed in their time, and also 
from its being cited in the Talmud, both Bauer and Jahn date it 
much later than is generally admitted: the former indeed is of 
opinion that its true date cannot be ascertained; and the latter, 
from the inequalities of style and method observable in it, consid- 
ers it as a compilation from the interpretations of several learned 
men, made about the close of the third or fourth century. This 
paraphrase treats on the Prophets, that is (according to the Jew- 
ish classiciiication of the sacred writings,) on the books of Josh- 
ua, Judges, 1 & 2 Sam. 1 & 2 Kings, who are termed the foTmer 
prophets; and on Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor 
prophets, who are designated as the htler prophets. Though Wit 



iNTERi'RETATION 0£ IHE SCKiPTURE&. £19 

Style of this Targum is not so pure and elegant as that of Onke- 
ios, yet it is not disfigured by those legendary tales and numerous 
foreign and barbarous words which abound in the later Targums- 
Both the language and method of interpretation, however, are ir- 
regular: in the exposition of the former prophets, the text is more 
closely rendered than in that on the latter, which is less accurate, 
as well as more paraphrastical, and interspersed v/ith some tradi- 
tions and fabulous legends. In order to attach the greater author- 
ity to the Targum of Jonathan Ben Unziel, the Jews, not satisfied 
with making him contemporary with the prophets Malachi, Zech- 
ariah, and Haggai, and asserting that he received it from their 
lips, have related, that while Jonathan was composing his para- 
})krase, theie was an earthquake for forty leagues around him; and 
that if any bird happened to pass over him, or a fij alighted on 
his paper v/hile writing, thej were immediately consumed by fire 
from heaven, without any injury being sustained either by his per- 
son or his paper! ! The whole of this Targum was translated in- 
to Latin by Alfonso de Zamora, Andrea de Leon, and Conrad 
Peliican; and the paraphrase of the twelve minor prophets, by Im- 
manuel rren)ellius. 

3. The third Targum, which is a more liberal paraphrase of 
the Pentateuch than the preceding, is usually called the Targum 
of the Pseudo-Jonathan, being ascribed by many to Jonathan Ben 
Uzziel who wrote the much esteemed Paraphrase on the Prophets. 
But the difference in the style and diction of this Targum, which 
is very impure, as well as in the method of paraphrasing adopted 
in it, clearly proves that it could not have been written by Jona- 
than Ben Uzziel, who indeed sometimes indulges in allegories and 
has introduced a few barbarisms; but this 'i'arguni on the law 
abounds with the most idle Jewish legends that can v/ell be con- 
ceived; which, together with the barbarous and foreign words it 
contains, render it of very little utility. 

4, The Jerusalem Targum^ which also paraphrases the five books 
of Moses, derives its name from the dialect in which it is compo- 
sed. It is by no means a connected paraphrase, sometimes omit- 
ting whole verses,* or even chapters; at other times explaining 
only a single word of a verse, of v/hich it sometimes gives a two- 
fold interpretation; and at others, Hebrew v/ords are inserted with- 
out any explanation whatever. In many respects it corresponds 
with the paraphrase of the Pseudo-Jonathan, ^vhose legendary 
tales are here frequently repeated, abridged, or expanded. From 
the impurity of its style, and the number of Greek, Latin, and 
Persian words which it contains. Bishop W.dton, Ca-rpzov, Wol- 
fius, and many other eminent philoiogers, are of opinion, that it is 
a compilation by several authors, and consists of extracts and col- 
lections. From these internal evidences, the commencement of 
the seventh century has been assigned as its probable date; but it 
is more likely not to have been written before the eighth,or perhaps 



.^20 IXTERPRETATIOX OF THE bClUPTURES. 

the ninth century. This Targum was also translated into Latia 
by Chevalier, and by Francis Taylor. 

5. The Targwn on the Megilloth^ or five books of Ecclesiastes, 
Song of Songs, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ruth, and Esther, is 
evidently a compilation by several persons: the barbarism of its 
style, numerous digressions, and idle legends v.'hich are inserted, 
all concur to prove it to be of late date, and certainly not earlier 
than the sixth century. The paraphrase on the book of Ruth and 
the Lamentations of Jeremiah is the best executed portion: Eccle- 
siastes is more freely paraphrased; but the text of the Song of Sol- 
omon is absolutely lost amidst the diffuse circumscnpiion of its au- 
thor, and his dull glosses and fabulous additions. 

6. TTie three Targams on the book of Esther. — This book has al- 
ways been held in the highest estimation by the Jews; which cir- 
cumstance induced them to translate it repeatedly into the Chal- 
dee dialect. Three paraphrases on it have been printed: one in 
the Antwerp Pcdyglott, which is much shorter, and contains fewer 
digressions than the others; another, in Bishop Walton's Poly- 
glott, which is more diffuse, and comprises more numerous JeAvish 
fables and traditions; and a third, of which a Latin Version was 
published by Francis Taylor; and which, according to Carpzov, 
is more stupid and diffuse than either of the preceding. They 
are all three of very late date. 

These Targums or Chalde'*, paraphrases, took their rise from 
the custom, Vvhich was ititrodiiced after i\\e Captivity, v hen the 
Jews had forgotten the Canaanitish Hebrew, of subjoining to the 
portions of Scripture, read in their Synagogues, an explication in 
Chaldee, which had then become their vernacular tongue. Prob- 
ably these Targums or paraphrases are a collection of traditiona- 
ry illustrations or a compilation of previously existing comments 
or translations, at a much later time than that attributed to their 
origin by some authors. Of all the Chaldee paraphrases, the Tar- 
gums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel are most highly valu- 
ed by the Jev/s, who implicitly receive their expositions of doubt- 
ful passages. Notwithstanding their deficiencies and interpola- 
tions, the Targums, especially of Onkelos and Jonathan are of 
very considerable importance in the illustration and interpretation 
of the scriptures, 'i'he Targum of Onkelos is a very literal and 
exact version, that of Jonathan is not so literal and exact. The 
Targums are written sometimes alternately with the Hebrew, verse 
by verse; sometimes in parallel columns; and sometimes in sepa- 
rate books: and were therefore of much value in recovering the 
knowledge of the Hebrew language.* 

HEBRAIC OR HELLENISTIC GREEK. 

The Scriptures of the New Testament were originally written 

^^■See Professor Gerard's Institutes of Biblical Criticism, pp. 6S — 71. A1- 
5,0 IJorneon the Scriptures, vol. II. pp. 157—163. 



I-NTERPRETATIUN OF THE SCRH'TUKEb. ^-."ii 

ia Greek, except the Gospel of Matthew and probably the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, which, according to the traditions of the ancients 
and the opinion of many Learned moderns, were written in Syro- 
Chaldaic, for the use of Jewish-Ghristians. The Greek language 
seems, primarily, to have been derived from the same source as 
the Hebrew; and to have taken its rise from some of the oriental 
dialects, used by the Colonies which peopled Greece. Cadmus 
-who first introduced letters into Greece, was a Phenician, and, no 
doubt, the letters which he introduced, were the Phenician or an- 
cient Hebrew; but on account of the situation of the Greeks, 
their progress in arts and sciences, and their care in refining and 
improving their language, it underwent so great alterations as to 
become, in time, very dissimilar . The Classic Greek has, per- 
haps, never been excelled by any other language, in copiousness, 
strength, beauty, and iiarmonj^ Every adequate Judge will ac- 
cede to the opinion of Horace: 

Grails ingenium, Grails dedit ore rotunda musa loqui. 

But as it happens to the language of every people, who are di- 
vided into several districts, so it fared with the Greek; it was 
greatly afi'ected by provincial dialects. The principal of these 
were the Attic, Ionic, Doric, ^^olic, and Macedonic. The Attic 
mostfrequentl}^ occurs in the New Testament. Still more unfor- 
tunately for this precious volume, the Greek had fallen from its 
primitive elegance and purity, before the Septuagint version was 
made, or the books of the New Testament were composed. The 
first alteration in the Greek was effected by the Macedonians 
about the time of Alexander, when the phrases and idioms of that 
people became nationalized at Athens, Being subjected to the 
Macedonians, and the different states of Greece blended together 
in one great community, the various provincial dialects yielded to 
the Communis Linqua^ which soon after became th% general language 
of composition: yet this Koine Dialectos^ or common language^ says 
Bentley, v/as never at any time or place the popular idiom; but a 
language of the learned, as the Latin among Europeans. The 
style of the Greek is found most pure and correct, in those wri- 
ters who preceded, or were contemporary with Demosthenes; but 
after him the alteration is very perceptible. 

During the civil war. Which followed the death of Alexander, 
and the revolutions of Asia and Greece, men of letters flowed to 
Alexandria in Egypt, and were liberally patronized by the Ptole- 
mies, The Greek tongue became predominant in business and 
commerce, and was soon associated with the Coptic. The Septu- 
agint version, principally made by Jews of Alexandria, presents 
singular forms of speech; being written in the Alexandrine dia- 
lect, which was a mixture of the Macedonic, Jewish, and Egyp- 
tian. In explaining the phraseology of the Septuagint and Nev/ 
Testament, critics have frequently drawn their examples from v.ri- 



-i^2 INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

ters, who lived under the Lagldas and Seleucidss: for as some of 
these monarchs had invited the Jews to settle in the cities which 
they had built, and others had encouraged them to reside in Egypt, 
the intercourse between the Jews and Greeks became very great 
in all the commercial towns; consequently a mixture of the 
Greek and Hebrew idioms naturally ensued. 

It appears from the terms, Syro- Macedones and Syro- Hellenes^ 
that the Greek had obtained considerable influence in Syria during 
the Macedonian conquests, When the Macedonians obtained the 
dominion of western Asia, they filled that country with Greek ci- 
ties. The Greeks also possessed themselves of many cities in 
Palestine, to v/bich the Herods added many others. The Romans 
were rather favorable to the extension of the Greek in Palestine, 
it being the official language of the Procurators. Hence the 
Greek spread through the various classes of the Jewish nation, by 
usage and commercial intercourse. Indeed the Greek had been 
for ages before Christ, a sort of universal language in the civilized 
world, at least among people of rank and literature: so that Cice- 
ro said truly, "•Graeca leguntur in omnibus fere geniihus.'''' 

Though the New Testament be written in Greek, ^n acquaint- 
ance with the Greek classics will not be found so conducive to the 
right understanding of the proper signification of the Christian 
Scriptures, as an acquaintance with the ancient Hebrew Scriptures: 
for notwithstanding most of the words and many of the phrases of 
the New Testament are pure Greek, and may therefore be explain- 
ed according to the usage of i^(\Q classical writers, yet the language 
of the Septuagint and New Testament is a kind of Hebrew- Greek, 
which even to a native of Athens might have been scarcely intel- 
ligible. The phraseology is Hebrew and the woi'ds are Greek. This 
is what might have been expected from the writers of the New 
Testament who were all Jews, and whose speech v>'as continually 
under the influence of a Hebrew Tang, which had become sancti- 
fied from a superstitious reverence for the language of their ances- 
ters and sacred writings. 

The Hellenistic style of the Greek Scriptures is the language of 
a Hebrew, speakino; Greek. The words are mostly Greek, but de- 
livered under the influence of a Hebrew construction. The Septu- 
agint Version was made in Egypt, under the government of the 
Ptolemies, for the use of the Jews then settled in that country, 
who were in as much need of a Greek version, as the Jews of Pa- 
lestine were then in need of a Chaldee version. The Egyptian 
Jews, to whom Greek was become their vernacular language, were 
of course desirous of possessing in Greek a faithful representa- 
tion of the Hebrew Scriptures. But then the structure of the 
two languages Vv'as so widely different, that the translators, ad- 
hering to the original, more closely than perhaps necessity requir- 
ed, retained Hebrew /or?/is and modes of expression, while the words, 
which they were writing, were Greek. But. as this version be- 



IMJLUPilETATIOX OF THE SCRIPTURES. ^23 

tame the Bible of all the Jews, who were dispersed throughout the 
countries, where Greek was spoken, it became the standard of 
their Greek language. St. Paul himself, who was born in Tarsus, 
and was accustomed from his childhood to hear the Septuagint read 
in the synagogue of that city, adopted the Hebrew idioms of the 
Greek version. And when he was removed to Jerusalem and pla- 
ced under the guidance of Gaiualiel, the Hebrew tincture of St. 
Paul's Greek could have suffered no diminution. The other Apos- 
tles were all natives of Palestine; as was also the Evangelist St. 
Mark, and probably the Evangelist St. Luke. Their language 
therefore was Syriac or Chaldee, of which the turns of expression 
had a close correspondence with those of the ancient Hebrew. 
Consequently, when they wrote in Greeks their language could 
not fail to resemble the language, which had been used by the 
Greek translators. And, as every Jew, who read Greek at alh 
(v/hich they who ivrote in it must have done) would read the Greek 
Bible, the style of the Septuagint again operated in forming the 
style of the Greek Testament. 

As the writers of the New Testament were Jews, the peculiar 
idioms of the Oriental dialects and the habit of reading the scrip- 
tures, whether in tiie original or ancient Greek Version, would pro- 
duce a mixture of Hebraisms and Chaldaisms in their writings. 
But as the Syriac and Chalde? are so very analogous, being little 
raore than the same language, the Syriac being the form which it 
assumed at a later period, and tliat in which we have excellent 
versions of the holy scriptures, it will be unnecessary to notice 
any other than the Hebrew^ Syriac a.i\d Latin idioms which occur in 
the New Testament. 

HEBRAISMS. 

1. Nonns of plural form are often used to express a single ob- 
ject when majesty, magnitude, dignity, or authority is intefided, 
thus the \wordSy Idaster, Lord, God, Creff for, /«ce are always plural. 

2. As the Jews have but few adjectives in their language, they 
often use substantives to supply their place: and the abstract is 
put for the concrete; and this usage is often adopted in the New 
Testament. Hence Kingdom and Glory means a glorious Kingdom.^ 
Mouth and wisdom denotes vAse discoursed Philosopliy and vain 
deceit means a vain and deceitful philosophy.! Body of flesh, a 
fleshly body.!! 

3. According to the Hebrev/, persons are often represented as 
sons or children of their ruling disposition or passion. Thus sons 
of Belial are worthless or wicked men. Children of disobedi- 
ence, or of wrath, are wrathful or disobedient persons. Hence 
also, children of hell, sons of perdition, mean persons obnoxious or 
liable to these evils. 

4. The Jews having no superlatives in their language employ 
■•■ 1 Thess. ii. 15?. 4- Luke xxl 15. tCo]. ii. 8. (iCol. i. 2,2. 



2'^4 LNTERFilKTATiUN 03?' THE SORIPTUHES. 

etl the phrases of Gody of the Lord, to express the greatness or ex- 
cellence of a thing. Accordingly a beautiful garden is called the 
Garden of the Lord. High mountains, jnoimtains of God, A great 
wind, the Spirit or wind q/* God. 

5. Plural nouns are sometimes intended to signify, not many, 
but one of many; in which usage, some suppose-an ellipsis of the 
numeral one. Thus ''the x\rk rested on the mountains," one of 
the mountains.* — The cities in which, (in one of which) Lotdwelt.t 
•'His Disciples," one of them.i *'The Thieves," that is, one of 
them, ji 

6. Men while rude studying to express themselves with force, 
and 1o magnify the qualities of things, endeavor to supply the 
scantiness of their language and thoughts, by redoubling or repea- 
ting words. Thus, to express vehemence, they repeat, My God, my 
God — The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. — To ex- 
press continuance, ye shall follow justice, justice. § To express 
multitude "the valley of Siddim was slime pits, slime pits," that is 
full of them.«f[ 

7. A noun governing itself, or an adjective repeated, forms a 
superlative. Hence, ''God of Gods" means the most high God 
— "servant of servants^'' an abject slave. '*^"^^ "That which is deep, 
deep," means the deepest or very deep.'-jt "Holy, holy, holy," 
means mostholy.:j;± 

8. The privileges of the first-born among the Israelites being ve- 
ry great, that which is chief or most eminent of any kind, is called 
the first-born. Accordingly Christ is called the first-born of many. 
The only begotten, the beginning of the creation: and this phrase 
has the same influence in degradation as in ascension; for first- 
born of death, is the most cruel death. |iil First-born of the poor 
means the poorest or most miserable. §§ 

9. The Hebrew having no neuter gender, sometimes the Mascu- 
line, but generally the feminine, is used; and this usage being some- 
times adopted in the Greek Testament, occasions peculiar forms 
of speech. ^^ 

10. As the Hebrevv's do not distinguish the cases of nouns by vary- 
ing their terminations, almost all the regimens in the Hebrew are 
formed by means of prepositions, and the cases are, therefore, 
sometimes used promiscuously, as the nominative for the vocative. 
But when the cases of nouns are not distinguished by their form, 
the sense or usage of the language, must determine in which of 
them the word should be taken. **^' 

*Gen. viii. 4. f Gen. xix. 29. J Compare Mat. xsiv. 1, and Mark 
xiii. 1. II See IMat. xxvii. 44, and Luke xxiii. 39. ^ Deut. xvi. 20. 

"!IGen. xiv. 10. **Gen ix. 25. ffEccles. vii. 25. ||Is. vi. 3. JUIJob 
xviii. 13. ^^Is. xiv. 30. liHSee Mat. xxi. 42. Mark xii. 11. John 

xvii. 3. =^**Mat. xxvii. 29, Liijce xii. 32, Acts rii. 59, Bom. viii. 14. 

F.pbcs. vi. 1. 



IMERrilETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. £25 

11. Verbs expressive of a person's doing an action, are often 
used to signify his supposing or discovering the thing, or his declar- 
ing and foretelling the event, especially in prophetic writings. I 
and my son shall be offenders' — supposed or accounted oifenders. 
He that findeth his life, (supposes or expects he shall find it by 
apostacy) shall lose it.f Make the heart of this people fat: that 
is, {.rjphesy that it shall be so.i What God hath cleansed — de| 
clared to be clean. || 

12. Verbs expressiveof a person's doing an action sometimes sig- 
nify only his giving power, inclination, commandment, or per- 
mission to perform it. Joseph tnade (commanded to make) 
ready his ch\riot.§ j^sus baptized: that is commanded his disci- 
ples to baptize. ^ Why hast thou made us to err — permitted us.** 
Lead us not into temptation — permit us not to be led. ft 

13. On account of the Hebrew having only two tenses, the past 
and the future, there are frequent interchanges of the tenses in 
i\\^ New Testament after the Hebrew idiom. Hence the past has 
sometimes the force of the present.tt 

14. The past tenses have sometimes the signification of the fu- 
ture Vv'hen userl to express the certainty of the event. Ijjl 

15. The future is used to express sometimes the present and 
sometimes the past:§§ and frequently in the sense of the Impera- 
tive, in negative precepts, particularly of the decalogue. 

16. The imperative is often put for the future of the indicative, 
an 1 hence what frequently appears as an imprecation is no more 
than a simple prediction; attention to this usage is of great impor- 
tance in the interpretation of scripture. ^^ 

\7. In the New Testament the Greek verbs are sometimes used 
in the signification of the Hebrew conjugations, particularly. Hip- 
hil, which represents the subject of the verb as causing the ac- 
tion to be performed by another.*** On the same principle living 
bread, living water,fr\ should be rendered bread, causing life. 

18. Comparisons are often expressed by negatives, and empha- 
ses by repetition. Mer(;y and not sacrifice implies mercy rather 
than sacrifice. tfl: Receive instruction and not (rather than) sil- 
ver. |1||11 Thou shall die to die — die the death — fear with fear, are 
strongly emphatical.§§§ 

19. There are numerous Hebraisms which cannot be reduced to 
rule and must be learned by use and observation — To know often 
signifies to approve. To hear, denotes to understand or regard,%^^ 

n Kmjs i. 21. I Mat. x. 30, J Is. vi 9, 10. jjActs. x. 13. 

^'dcn. xlvi. 29. ^John iii. 22, and ir. 1. **-Is. Ixiii. 17. ffMat. vi. 
13. IJSee Gen. xxxii. 10, Ex. xxxiii. 19, Mat. iii. 17, and xxiii. 2, John 
1. 1 5, 20, and Acts xii. 1 i. Ijljls. ix. 6, and Ixiii 4, Heb. 2, 7, John iii. 13; 
and v. 24, and xv. 6, Rom. riii. 10. ^\^See Ps. i. 2, Luke xxiii 46, — Ex. 

XV. 5, Judges ii. 1. li'^See Dent, xxxii. 50, Is. liv. 14, John ii. 19. ***See 
Mat. V. 45, Luke xi. 53, Heb. iv. 8. jftJohn iv. 10, and vi. 51. JJtHo- 
sea vi. 6, Mat. ix. 13 and xii. 7. JlHHProv. viii. 10, }}^See Gen. ii. 17. 
Mat XV. I. fT^M^t vii. 23, xi. 15, and xvii. 5, Luke viii. 8, Acts iii, 23. 

29 



SYUIASMc. 

The vernacular language of the Jews, in tiie time of Christ r 
was Aramean, which was then divided into two dialects, the Chal- 
dee or east and the Syriac or west Aramean. The Syriac, thouj^h 
written in different characters and somev/hat difierent in proniincia- 
tioB, was spoken in Galilee, and differed very little in words from 
the Chaldee dialect which prevailed at Jerusalem: but as our Lord 
and his disciples principally resided in Galilee, the Syriac was 
predominant in their style; though, therefore, they Evangelists ex- 
press themselves in Greek, their ideas are Syriac and consequent- 
ly there are many Syriac words, idioms, and phrases in the 
New Testament, and some Greek words used in a Syriac sense. 
As the Syriac idiom betrayed Peter to be of Galilee, so the style 
of the New Testament in many parts, abundantly prove the wri- 
ters to have been Galileans. 

The following are Syriac words, acciirrin:^ in the Greek Testa- 
ment Abba, Rabbi, Cephas, Talitha cumi, Maran atha, Mam- 
mon, &C.-'' 

LATINISMS. 

As judea had been reduced to a Roman province in the time of 
Christ, from the introduction of Roman laws and the com- 
mercial intercourse of the Jews and Romans, Latin terms would 
soon be amalgamated with the language of Judea. So generally 
was the Latin introduced with the Roman conquests, that the 
Greek became corrupted, even in countries were it was the ver- 
nacular tongue. The Latin having become familiar to the people 
of Syria, during the government of the Romans, several words 
and phrases would naturally become nationalized : Hence we find 
not only latin words but even latin phraseology in some parts of 
the New Testament. Of these the following nre adduced as ex- 
amples: Census, Centurion, Custodia, Colonia, Denarius, Justus, 
Legion, Libertinus, Linteum, Membrana, Sudariuni, Sicarius, 
Speculator, Taberna.t 

RULES OF INTERPRETATION. 

Rule I. Ascertain what the author has actually written. To ac com - 
plish this primary object, the criticism of the Bible becomes abso- 
lutely necessary: and unless we ascertain by its help what is the 
genuine text, we can have no solid foundation on which to build our 
interpretation. The assistance which can be rationally expected 
in this investigation must be derived from a careful collation of 
the ancient Manuscripts, Versions, and Fathers. 

*See Rom. viii. 15, Joba i. 38; John i. 42; Mark v, 41; 1 Cor. xvi, 22 and 
Mat. vi, 24. 

fSee Mat. xvif, 25; Mark xv 39; Acts xri. 12; Liike vii. 41; Acts i. 23: 
Mat. xxvi. 53; Acts yi. 9; John xiii. 4; 2 Tim. iv. 13^ Luke xix. 20: Acts 
i^xi. 3<S: Mark vi. 27: Acts xxriii. 15. 



I.VrERFKETATIOX oy THE .Sf RUPTURES. X.Z7 

h\ torming an estimate of the MSS. we must not so much con- 
sider theii* number as their quality, antiquity, and agreement with 
the most ancient Versions: tor the true readiijgmay be preserved 
in a single manuscript. We may also derive help in this part oi 
the investigation from examination of the eayly printed editions. 
Ancient Versions are a legitimate source of emendation, unless 
on collation we have suflicient reason to conclude that the trans- 
lators of them were mistaken. The reading of the ancient 
MSS. supported by the concurrence of the Ancient Versions and 
the sense of the iext^ is certainly genuine. Of all the diff'erent 
versions, the Septucgint of the Old and the Syriac and Old Italic 
versions of the New Testament are the surest guides. 

The quotations of the ancient Fathers are so numerous that 
nearly all the sacred volume lies repeatedly scattered throughout 
their works. From their citations we learn what was the reading 
of the MSS. in their time: but in forming a judgment of their quo- 
tations we must be careful to distinguish the age, abilities, and ac- 
curacy of the writer as well as whether the work be genuine and au- 
thentic. All the means, therefore, which we possess for obtaining 
an accurate edition of the scriptures, is a careful and laborious 
comparison of the MSS. versions, and quotations of the Greek 
and Latin Fathers. 

Critical Conjecture is a fourth means of amending the sacred 
Text^ proposed by Critics, but alone cannot be a legitimate means of 
amendation unless the i'txi be manifestly corrupted and the recei- 
ved reading evidently faultly: for if admitted without the utmost 
necessity a door would be opened to every species of corruption: 
and every zealous adherent to party would allege his right, and 
conjecture would be urged even in defiance of evidence which 
would be no better than subornation in a court of Justice. For 
this reason neither Wetstein proposed, nor Griesbach received, an 
alteration of words from conjecture. But though it be not allow- 
able to alter words in the Greek Testament from conjecture, we 
are at full liberty to apply it to the points, accents, and marks of as- 
piration^ for the most ancient MSS. afford no evidence on this 
head, and therefore we are at equal liberty to exercise our judg-> 
ment as well as those writers, who have added them to the mod- 
ern manuscripts. In this department the critical conjectures of 
Bowyer in his edition of the Greek Testament 1782 are of real 
value. 

Conjectural readings, strongly supported by the sense, connex- 
ion, the nature of the lanf!:uage, or similar texts, may sometimes 
be probable, especla'.iy when it can be shown that they would ea- 
sily have given occasion to the present reading: and readings first 
suggested by conjecture have sometimes been afterwards found to 
be actually in manuscripts, or in some version: but a conjectural 
reading, unsupported by any manuscripts, and unauthorised by 
similarity of letters, by the connexion and context of the passage 



££8 IlvTERPRETATlON QF THE SCliXPTUllES. 

itself, and by the analogy of faith, is manifestly to be rejected. 

No one should attempt this kind of emendation who is not 
most deeply skilled in the sacred languages; nor should critical 
conjectures ever be admitted into the text, for we never can be 
certain of the truth ot merely ronjectural readings. Were these 
indeed to be admitted into the text, the utmost confusion and un- 
certainty would necessarily be created. The diligence and mod- 
esty of the Masorites are in this respect worthy of our imitation: 
they invariably inserted their conjectures in the margin of their 
manuscripts, but most religiously abstained from altering the text 
according to their hypotheses: and it is to be regretted that their 
example has not been followed by some modern translators of the 
Old and New Testament (and especially the latter;) who, in order 
to support doctrines which have no foundation whatever in tlie sa- 
cred writings, have not hesitated to obtrude their conjectures into 
the text. 

Preparations have been made for the Hebrew Bible by Kenni- 
cot and De Rossi of Parma, who have collated above a thousand 
MSS. from ail parts of the world: and for the Septuagint by Win- 
chel Bos. and Holmes; the last ot whom, collated above 300 Greek 
MSS. thirty Greek Fathers, eleven editions of the Greek, and 
nearly thirty Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Arabic, and Sclavonic 
MSS. A still more complete apparatus has been furnished for 
the New Testament by the labors of Mill, Bengel, Wetstein, 
Birch, Alter, Matthai, and Griesbach; who have collated near five 
hundred MSS. from all nations and of all ages from the fourth 
century, as well as all the ancient versions and Fathers. Hence 
we have at present, materials for nearly an immaculate edition of 
the sacred scriptures. 

Though . for general use the excellent edition of Griesbach be 
sufi&ciently accurate, being incomparably superior to all others; 
yet it may not be improper here to subjoin some general rules for 
the selection and determination of various readings: referring 
the student notwithstanding to Griesbach's Prolegomena,* and Ge- 
rard's "Institutes of Biblical Criticism.*' 

*The substance of Griesbach's Canons, wliich I have thought of too much 
importance to be left unnoticed, is here translated from his Prolegomena and 
presented to the reader. 

1. A short reading- tmless entirely destitute cf the authority of the more an- 
cient and important witnesses, is preferable to one more verbose; for critics 
and transcribers are much more prone to add than to omit. Scarcelj ever 
have they left out any thin«j but they have added many things. 

2. More difficult and obscure readings are to be preferred to one in which 
all is so plain and intelligible thatthe copyist may easily understand it: for these 
readings by their obscurity vex the transbsibers. 

3. A rough reading is preferable to that in which the langiTage Sows gentlely 
and agreeably: for a harsh reading containing an elipsis, hcbraism, or sole- 
cism is more offensive to the usual style of the Greeks. 

4. The more unusual reading is better than that vrhich presents nothing un- 



INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. ■rl'i^ 

The evidences by which various readings may be examined, are 
of two kinds, — external, — and internal; the former, arising from 
the authority of MSS. versions, and quotations; the latter, from 
the nature of the languages, the sense and connexion, and the 
known occasions of false readings; parallel places partake of the 
nature of both. When the evidences of both kinds concur in fa- 
vour of a reading, there can be no doubt that it is the genuine rea- 
ding; and, therefore, we have full assurance of the genuineness of 
the great bulk of the Scriptures as contnined in all the common 
editions. When the evidence for and against a reading is divided, 
the determination must be made according to the circumstances 
of each particular case. If the external evidence stands on the 
one side, and the internal on the other, the former ought, in gen- 
eral, to determine the question, for it is the most direct. But, the 
internal evidence may, notwithstanding, be so strong, as to over- 
balance a great degree of external evidence; particularly, where 
the reading supported by the latter is palpably false, or, were the 
introduction and prevalence of it can be easily accounted for, 
without supposing it genuine, as in copies plainly framed in con- 
formity to the Masora. Often both the external and internal evi- 
dence, is partly for one reading, and partly for another; and {hey 
are divided with so great varieties of circumstances, that no rules 
of deciding, strictly universal, can be laid down. 

But, if we distinguish various readings into four classes — cer- 
tainly genuine — probable — dubious— and false; it maybe possible 
to determine, with sufficient precision, the circumstances which 
entitle a reading to be placed in one or another of these classes, 
usual: for words that are rare anJ ph.-ases and constructions that are unusu- 
al, are preferable to those which are more common, and arc therefore more 
unlikely to have been inserted, 

5. Expressions that are less emphatic, unless the scope and context of the 
sacred writer i-equire emphasis, are more likely to be the genuine reading-, 
than those which have, or seem to hove greater force or emphasis; for Co- 
pyists which liave only a smattering of learning, are much pleased with em- 
phasis. 

6. That reading is to be preferred, which giyes a sense apparently false, 
but whic^ on thorongh investigation, proves to be the true one. 

7. Among the many readings of any one place, that which manifestly fa- 
vors the dogmas of Orthodo-:ry, or is suited to nourish monastic sanctity, 
should be suspected; for since almost all the manuscripts which are extant, 
were written by monks and others addicted to the Catholic party, it is- net 
credible than any of them should neglect to introdnce a reading that might 
seem to confirm more clearly the dogmas of the Catholics, or more effeclu- 
ally overthrow reputed heresy. 

C. Those readings which arise by the negligence of scribes, from repetitions 
of words or cl mses which went immediately before, or followed closely after, 
as well as all those which appear to be j-losses or interpretations of critics, 
should be disregarded as of no value. 

9. Ail readings introduced into the Greek Text from the Latin Versions. 
or from the Commentaries and notes of the Fathers as well as those which arose 
fbom Lectionaries, should be reicrted. 



~3U INTERPRETATiON OF THE. SC&lPTUKlib. 

Greater is the authority of a reading found in only a few manu- 
scripts of different characters, dates, and countries, than in many 
manuscripts of a similar complexion. Bui, of manuscripts of the 
same family or recension, the reading of the great number is of 
most weight. The evidence of manuscripts is to be weighed, not 
enumerated: for the agreement of several manuscripts is of no 
authority, unless their genealogy (if v/e may be allowed the term) 
is known; because it is possible that a hundred manuscripts that 
now agree together may have descended from one and the same 
source. 

1. Readings are certainly right, and that in the very highest 
sense at all consistent with the existence of any various reading, 
which are supported by several of the most ancient, or the majority 
of MSS. by all or most of the ancient versions; by quotations; by 
parallel places, if there be any, and by the sense; though these 
readings be not found in the common editions, nor, perhaps, in 
any printed edition. 

2. Readings are certainly right, which are supported by a few 
ancient MSS. in conjunction with the ancient versions, quotations, 
parallel places, and sense; though they be not found in most MSS 
nor'in the printed editions; especially, when the rejection of them 
in the latter can be easily ascertained. 

3. Readings in the Pentateuch, supported by the Samaritan co- 
py, a few Hebrew MSS. the ancient versions, parallel places, and 
the sense, are certainly right, tliough they be not found in the gen- 
erality of Hebrew MSS. nor in editions. 

4. Ancient MSS. supported by some of the ancient versions, 
and the sense, render a reading certainly right, though it be not 
found in the more modern: and when supported by parallel pla- 
ces, and the sense, may show a reading to bs certainly right. 
Likewise the concurrence of the most ancient, or of a great num- 
ber of MSS. along with countenance from the sense, is sufficient 
to shew a reading to be certainly right. 

3. The concurrence of the ancient versions is suSicient to es- 
tablish a reading as certainly right, when the sense, or a parallel 
place, shows both the propriety of that reading, and the corruption 
of what is found in the copies of the original. 

Readings certainly genuine, ought to be restored to the text of 
the printed editions, though hitherto admitted into none of them, 
that they may henceforth be rendered as correct as possible; they 
ought, likewise, to be adopted in all versions of Scripture; and 
till this be done, they ought to be followed in explaining it. 

There are various readings, probably genuine; when the evi- 
dence preponderates, but is not absolute decisive, in their favor; 
of which kind, as criticism is not always susceptible of certainty, 
are far the greatest part of various readings; and the degrees of 
probability being infinite, according to the numberless minute al- 
terations of circumstances, dowm from certainty to perfect doubt- 



INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTIRES. ^l^'^l 

tulness, it is impossible to enumerate fally all tiie cases v/liichjall 
under this head; but the" most general may be distinguished. 

1. Of two readings equally, or almost equally, supported by ex- 
ternal evidence, that is probable, whiclibcst suits the sense, or the 
nature of the language, or which could not, so readily as the oth- 
or, have been written by mistake. Again, the sense, and other 
internal evidences, may even render the reading of a few MSS. 
probable, in opposition to that of the greater number, and of ver- 
sions and quotations. 

2. One or a few ancient versions, may render a reading proba- 
ble, \vhen it is strongly supported by the sense, connexion, or par- 
allel places, in opposition to one which suits not these, though 
found in other versions and in MSS: and the concurrence of all, 
or most of the ancient versions, in a reading not found in MSS. 
now extant, renders it probable, if it be agreeable to the sense, 
though not absolutely necessary to it. 

Probable readings may have so high a degree of evidence, as 
justly entitles them to be inserted into the text^ in place of the 
received reading much less probable* Such as have not consider- 
ably higher probability than the common ones, should only be put 
on the margin; but, they, and all others, ought to be weighed with 
impartiality. 

Readings arc dubious, when the evidence for, and against them, 
is so equally balanced, that it is difficult to determine which of 
them preponderates 

1. When MSS. versions, and other authorities, are equall}-, 
or almost equally, divided between readings v/hich all suit the 
sense and connexion, it is difficult to determine which of them 
ought to be preferred. 

2. The sense, and other internal evidences, may plead so strong- 
ly for one reading, and the authority of MSS. and versions so 
strongly for another, as to render it doubtful v.'hich ought to be 
preferred; and both the external and the internal evidence may 
l3e so much divided betv/een two readings, as to render it doubtful 
v/hieh of them demands the preference. 

No dubious reading should be taken into the tQxt, in place of 
what is already there; for, no alteration ought to be made in the re- 
ceived copies, without positive reason; and, such dubious read- 
ings as are already in the text, should be marked as snch, and the 
<)tl\er3 put on the margin; but, every person is at liberty to use 
his own judgment in choosing which he pleases. 

There arc readings which are wrong; and of this kind, are far 
the greatest part of the variations from the received copies; but, 
to it belong, likewise, several which have, by the injudiciousness, 
the inattention, or prejudices of transcribers and editors, been 
admitted into these; and such readings are either certainly or pro- 
bably wrong. 

L All readings are certainly wrong, which stand in opposition 



232 IXTERPKilTATlftN OF THE iiCKlPTUaEji- 

to the several classes of readings certainly genuine^ of which^ 
therefore, many examples have been already given; but others 
may, without impropriety, be added,* particularly, such as have 
been very generally received, and jet bear plain marks of their 
being corruptions, as iin plying barbarism, inconsistency, or the 
like: for all readings which imply barbarism, solecism or absurd- 
ity, may be pronounced certainly wrong, though we know of no 
reading, certainly right, to be substituted in their place. 

2. Readings, certainly or very probably false, ought to be ex- 
punged from the editions of the Scriptures, and departed from in 
versions of them, hovvever long and generally they have usurped 
a place there, as being manifest corruptions, which impair the pu- 
rity of the sacred books. 

Rule II. Ascertain the meaning which the wriUr attached to his 
own words. Whether v/e speak or write, it must be our object to 
be understood; and as words are signs of our ideas, every author 
will use such words as he believes v/ill convey to the mind of his 
reader, the thoughts of which he intended his words to be the ve- 
hicle, otherwise his v/ords would be faUacious signs. If a person 
litter certain words, to which another attaches the same ideas as 
the speaker, the one is said to understand the other; because he 
comprehends his true meaning. To interprete, therefore, a word 
in any language, we must know the idea affixed to that word by 
those who speak that language. But if tAiQ writing be in a dead 
language, the diificulty of interpretation is greatly increased. 
Recourse must be had to a Lexicon, the compiler of which may 
not have had sufficiently numerous and multifareous Vv'ritings to 
enable him to understand the usage of that language, in its full 
extent. Besides the particular wonis under investigation may be 
of rare occurrence. This often happens in the Scriptures: and 
though in such cases, different classical authors are to be consulted, 
yet frequently words are used, in the New Testament, in such a 
sense as cannot be learned from the whole list of classic authors, 
in the Greek language. In such case we must have recourse to 
the Hebrew; and observe the sense in which similar terms are used 
by the Old Testament v/riters. In vain do we attempt the explan- 
ation of the words Holy, sanctified, righteous, righteousness, justifi- 
cation and similar terms by all the Greek writers, or the aid of 
any modern language. 

When we are carried from ilie New Testament to the Old, the 
scantiness of language frequently impells us onward to the kind- 
red dialects of the Hebrew. Hence, the Syriac and Arabic ver- 
sions, and the Chaldee paraphrases become very important, not on- 
ly in tracing the derivations but also in attaining the meaning of 
the word or phrase under examination. Reference may be also 
made with great advantage, on many occasions, to the Septuagint 
and Tuigate, which, being early and close translations, fre- 
quently retain not only the sense but even the very idiom of the 



INTERPHETATION OF TH*E SCRIPTURES. ^233 

original. The eUjmology of the loord should ever he sought. We 
admit that on some particular occasions this rule may fail, but it 
will generally hold. There can be no propriety in perverting a 
word from its original meaning, and is seldom done where necessi- 
ty d )es not make the case urgent — nor should a ward ever be sup- 
posed to import any other idea than its general and received mean- 
ing, unle&s the strongest reasons can be adduced to prove that its 
comnDn acceptation should be abandoned. 

Rule III. Ascertain the particular sense of each phrase or sen- 
tence. Often it will happen that when we have attained the gene- 
ral import of each particular word, the rendering of the whole 
phrase becomes perfectly unintelligible, or the sense altogether 
different from what was intende.i by the original author. Hence 
the absolute necessity of a perfect acquaintance with the gram- 
mar, usage, and idiomatical phraseology of the language we in- 
terprets and of that into which the translation is to be made. But 
a knowledge of verbal construction will not be sufficient. We 
must frequently betake ourselves to the consideration of a variety 
of particulars. 

1. We must carefully inquire into the style^ character^ and Historic- 
al circumstances of the author. The words of an author must not 
be so explained as to make them inconsistent with his known style, 
character, sentiments, and situation, nor with Une known circum- 
stances in which he wrote. Under the plirase, historical circum- 
stances^ we should include the time^ the jo/ofce, the occasion^ and the 
Bibtical antiquities^ which tend to illustrate the History, Geogra- 
phy, learning, opini )ns, sects, manners and customs of the age and 
people with whom the author was conversant. 

The knowledge of the author's history, situation, and manner 
of conceiving and expressing things, contri*)utes mu:h more to 
our entering into his full meaning, and is often absolutely neces- 
sary for this purpose 

The parts of Scripture, in which peculiarities of manner chief- 
ly appear, are the arg imentative parts. The principle of these 
are the writings of Paul, who was plainly a man eminent for ex- 
tensive views, warmth of imagination, and quickness of concep- 
tion; and this turn of mind occasions several peculiarities in his 
manner, which it is absolutely necessary to attend to, in order to 
our understanding his epistles. 

The scope and design of a book of Scripture is to be cnllncted 
from its own occasion, and from attention to its general tenor, to 
the tendency of the several topics, and to the force of the leading 
expressions; for perceiving all which, repeated and connected 
perusals of the book itself are the best means. 

Such knowledge of their particular design, in writing, as we 
can attain, will contribute very much to our understanding them, 
and that m proportion to its clearness and certainty; but some 
knowledge of it is, in many cases, absolutely necessary for our at 
aU entering into their meaning. 



234 INTEilPRKTATiOX OF THE SCiUFlURE^- 

The design of an epistle is the great key to the whole of it. 
Till it is discovered, all must appear involved in obscurity and 
confusion. When it is fully ascertained, all becomes regular, dis- 
tinct, and clear. A just conception of the scope of an epistle, 
contributes greatly to our discovering the plan and distribution of 
the whole, the tendency of the several members, and the manner 
in which the arguments are conducted; and shows them all uni- 
ting in one point. Knowledge of the general scope of an epistle, 
is often the best or the only means of lixing the sense of particu- 
lar expressions used in it; not only of the leading expressions 
which run through it, but even of the more incidental ones, which 
are sometimes selected v/ith a plain view to promote it. 

Knowledge of the time when a book was written, sometimes shews 
the reason, and the propriety of things said in it. Though there be 
great difficulty in ascertaining the precise date of many of the 
books of Scripture, yet that of several of them may be determin- 
ed v/ith sufficient evidence; and whenever it can be determined, it 
will shew the beauty of some figure, the force of some expression, 
or full meaning of some passage. Hence it has often been men- 
tioned, as what would be of considerable use, that the books of Scrip- 
ture be placed, or, at least read, in the order in which they were 
written. Inattention to, or ignorance of, the real date of a b >ok, 
often occasions mistake concerning the meaning of particular pas- 
sages. 

The occasion of writing any part of Scripture, when known, is 
of great use for ascertaining the scope and design; which should 
be determined in conformity to that occasion. The particular oc- 
casion, or special reason, for writing any book of Scripture, must 
be collected from history, from intimations in ot ier parts of the 
Scripture, from openings in the book itself; and is, in different 
instances, discoverable with different degrees of ease and certain- 
ty. Knowledge of the particular occasion, or the special reason 
for writing any part of Scripture, is of the very greatest import- 
ance for throwing light upon it: as, to this, it often has a reference 
throughout. 

2. Carefuly consider the meaning which icould he naturally affixed 
to the author^ s words ^ by the persons for ichom he wrote: for that mean- 
ing which would be plain and obvious to them, for whom the work 
w^as written, should not be abandoned but through necessity. 
There is a kind of natural compact between those who write and 
those who speak a language, by w4iich they are naturally bound to 
use words in a certain sense: he therefore who uses such words, 
in a different signification, violates that compact. Accordingly 
we perceive it to be of the highest importance to be well acquain- 
ted with the historical circumstances, views, and manners of the 
people to whom those writings were addressed. 

3. In obscure phrases^ consult the connexion^ parallel passages, the 
analogy of faiih, the ancient versions. Fathers^ and modern trartslaior^. 



INTEllPllETATIOX OF THE SUiaPTUilllb. iOCJ 

<jiinotators, and Commentators. No explanation should be admitted 
but that which suits the context, and to ascertain the meaning of a 
single verse, it will often be necessary to read carefully a few ver- 
ses, the whole paragraph, and sometimes a whole chapter or book. 
The comparison of the proceeding and subsequent parts of a writ- 
ten composition or discourse, v/ill often enable us to determine the 
signification which is best adapted to the passage under investiga- 
tion. The connexion is of so grea.t importance for the interpreta- 
tion of scripture, that its true sense can be apprehended only- by ex- 
plaining every sentence and expression according to the place in 
which it stands, and the relation which it bears to what precedes, 
and what foUovv^s. In like manner, ambiguous expressions must 
be restricted, among their several significations, to that one which 
suits the connexion. 

In a piece of reasoning, every proposition must be considered 
in its conexion with the v/hole argument; if it be a principle, or 
medium of proof, in relation to the point intended to be proved: 
if an inference, in relation to the premises v/hence it is deduced; 
if only an illustration, in reference to th3 purpose for which it is 
brought. 

Parallel passages are such as have some resemblance, and are of 
considerable importance in interpreting such parts of Scripture as 
are obscure or uncertain. A Real Parallelism or Analogy of Scrip- 
ture IS where the same subject is treated either in the same words, 
or in others that are more clear, full, and copious. Parallelisms 
are either historical or doctrinal. Historical parallelisms are those 
in which the same event is related; and are of great use for the un- 
derstanding of the Four Gospels, where the same things are often 
I'elated with dilferent degrees of fullness and perspicuity. A 
doctrinal Parallelism is that in which the same tki7}g is taught. 
For the investigation of Parallelisms, Concordances and iJibles 
with judicious and numerous marginal references, are highly use- 
ful. The best concordances are those of Buxtorf and Taylor for 
the Hebrew Bible, that of Trommius for the Septuagint, that of 
Schmidius for the Greek Testament, and those of Cruden and 
Butterworth for the English Bible. 

In many Bibles with marginal references there is not sufiicient 
care taken to select passages that are truly parallel; and hence 
the reader spends much time in vain, tossing the leaves of his Bi- 
ble to no purpose. The following rules are therefore suggested. 

First, passages are, in the strictest sense, parallel, in which, 
either with or without a quotation, the same thing is said in the 
same, or nearly the same, w^ords; and if, in these, the agreement 
be perfect, they shew the integrity, but cannot contribute much to 
the illustration of each other; but there is seldom or ever such 
perfect agreement; and, therefore, paiisagas of this kind generally 
throw some light on one another. ^ 

Secondly, those passages of Scripture are parallel, which relate 



r2S6 INTERPPv£TATI«X OY THE SCRPPTU'RES. 

Ihe same facts. Thej are numerous: and the comparison of them 
with one another is productive of great advantage. 

Thirdly, passages are parallel, in u^hich the same \vort|s or idi- 
oms are used in different connexions, or on different subjects; 
and the comparison of such passages is of very great utility, for 
ascertaining the meaning of tliese words or idioms. 

Analogy of Faiih is a scriptural phrase, borrowed from the lan- 
guage of the New Testament,* and is of high importance in our 
investigation of the scriptures. It may be defined the harmonious 
testimony of the sacred writers to the fundamental doctrines of faith 
and practice. According to this analogy, that view or interpreta- 
tion of dubious or obscure passages ought always to be adopted 
which is most consonant to the whole scheme of Religion: there- 
fore no doctrine can belong to the analogy of Faith which is foun-. 
ded on a single Text; for every essential doctrine of religion is re- 
peated in a variety of places; and single sentences must be taken 
in connexion with the whole discourse. On the other hand, a doc- 
trine manifest from the scope or tenor of Revelation must not be 
set aside, by a few obscure passages: moreover doubtful or figura- 
tive passages must never be interpreted in such a sense, as to make 
them contradict plain ones; but the whole system of Revelation 
must be so explained as to be harmonious and consistent. 

In forming the analogy of faith all the plain texts relating to 
one subject, or article, ought to be taken together, impartially 
compared, the expressions of one of them restricted by those of 
another, and explained in mutual consistency, and that article de- 
duced from them all in conjunction; not, as has been most com- 
monly the practice, one set of texts selected, which have the same 
aspect, explained in their greatest possible rigour; and all others, 
which look another way., neglected or explained away, and tortur- 
ed into a compatibility with the opinion, in that manner partially 
deduced. 

That interpretation of a particular passage which is most favor- 
able to a real, or supposed article of faith, is not, on that account, 
to be always preferred; and the most obvious and natural sense 
ought to be set aside, only when it is absolutely contradictory to 
something plainly taught in Scripture; but the opposite way has 
often been taken by all sects. 

Versions give great assistance for understanding the sense of 
Scripture, even to those who are acqainted with the originals, 
wherever the translators were more skilful in these languages, ©r 
bestowed greater attention, or had superior advantages of any kind. 
As some versions are made with greater skill and exactness than 
others, and some parts of every version, with greater than other 
parts of it; the comparison of different versions, and the selection 
of the preferable rendering from them all, contributes very much 
to our obtaining the true sense of Scripture. 

*Rom. xii. 6. 



INXEIU'RETATIO-V QF THE SeitIPTC'H-ii.i- i^Sf 

Neither the ancient versions, nor the modern, ought to be prefer- 
■ red absolutely, in all cases; for the deviations of later translators 
from the renderings of the earlier, are sometimes to the better, 
and sometimes to the worse: But significations of words pointed 
out by such ancient versions, are significations which we may be 
sure that the words really had; and we may, without scruple, pre- 
fer them to the more modern and common renderings, when the 
sense or other circumstances give countenance to them.. 

The ancient versions, being the works of men who had several 
advantages above the moderns for understanding the original lan- 
guages, and the phraseology of Scripture; and those of the Old 
Testament, in particular, being one of the principle means by 
which the knowledge of the Hebrew was recovered, and, by more 
careful attention to which, it may be rendered still more perfect, 
there can be no doubt but they generally give us the true sense of 
the Scripture, and that often in places where we could scarcely 
have discovered it by any other means. 

The Fathers are not entitled to our adoration, neither do they 
merit our contempt. If some of them vvcre weak and credulous, 
others of them were both learned and judicious. In what depends 
purely on reason and argument, we ought to treat them with the 
same impartiality we do the moderns, carefully weighing what is 
said, not who says it. In what depends on testimony, they are, 
in every case, wherein no particular passion can be suspected to 
have swayed them, to be preferred before modern interpreters or 
annotators. I say not this to insinuate that we can rely more on 
their integrity, but to signify that many points were with them a 
subject of testimony, which, with modern critics, are matter mere- 
ly of conjecture, or at most of abstruse and critical discussion- 
It is only from ancient authors, that those ancient usages, in oth- 
er things as well as in language, can be discovered by us, which 
to them stood on the footing of matters of fact, whereof they 
could not be ignorant. Language, as has been often observed, 
is founded in use; and ancient use, like all other ancient facts, 
can be conveyed to us only by written testimony. Besides, the 
facts, regarding the import of words (when controversy is out of 
the question) do not, like other facts, give scope to the. passions to 
operate; and if misrepresented, they expose either the ignorance 
or the bad faith of the author to his cotemporaries. I do not say, 
therefore, that we ought to confide in the verdict of the fathers as 
judges, but we ought to give them an impartial hearing as, in ma- 
ny cases, the only competent witnesses. And every body mu&t 
be sensible that the direct testimony of a plain man, in a matter 
which comes within the sphere of his knowledge, is more to be re- 
garded, than the subtile conjecture of an able scholar, who does 
not speak from knowledge, but gives the conclusion he has drawn 
from his own precarious reasonings, or from those of others.* 
■"^Campbell's Four Gospels, fo'irtb Prolim. Dissertation, 



^23y iNTEaPHETATlON Oi' THE SCRlPTUki.S. 

Scholiasts and Annotators are those who write short notes, illus- 
trative of an auth;ir's meaning and allusions; and study to express- 
themselves more concisely i\\diTi Commentators. Sometimes one of 
these short notes will more effectually tend to illucidate the im- 
port of a phrase or sentence, than a long and dogmatical comment. 
But a judicious commentator will avoid all prolix, extraneous, and 
unnecessary discussions, as well as far-fetched explanations, and 
will brini> every pSiilological aid to bear on passages that are diffi- 
cult and obscure, Commentators ought not omit a single passage 
that possesses more than ordinary difficulty, though the contrary 
is the case with many, who expatiate very copiously on the more 
easy passages of scripture, vv^hile they either scarcely touch on 
those which are really difficult, or altogether omit to treat of them. 
The province of the Co nmentator is to remove every difficulty 
that can impede the biblical reader, and facilitate his studies, by 
rendering the sense of the sacred writings more clear and easy to 
be apprehended. 

The best Commentators and Translators only should be read; 
The Literal and Critical should be preferred: and among these 
we may mention Ainsworth, Wetstein, Lowth, Whitby, Calmet, 
Newcombe, Wall, Campbell, Priestley, Poole, Goadby, Clarke, 
Locke, Benson, Doddridge, Mr Kniglit, Hamm nd, Le Clerc, Boo- 
throyd, Beausobre, and L' Enfant. But it is truly painful to re- 
flect that out of this venerable list of Commentators, not one nor 
all of them collectively, will teach the prominent and uniform 
doctrines of Revelation. Tv.'o causes have pov/erfully operated 
to this unhappy state of things. They have supposed the common 
creeds of the Churches to be ihoi analogy of Faith, to which they 
sought conformity; and laboring under the influence of an evil 
education, they have blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, 
that the truth and fear of Almighty have in a degree been hid from 
them. Notwithstanding the student may highly profit, by consul- 
ting their writings, for they frequently breathe both the language 
of true literature and piety. 

If the interpretation of the Scripture were easj/ and obvious, 
there would be little or no diversity in the explanations, which dif- 
ferent commentators have given of the same passage. But if we 
compare the Greek with the Latin commentators, we shall frequent- 
ly find such a variety of interpretation, as would appear almost 
impossible to be extracted from the same text. If we compare 
the Jeicish coitimentators, eithei with the Greek, or with the Latin, 
we shall find as great a variety, though a variety of a different kind. 
If we compare our English commentators wtth any of the prece- 
ding, we shall find no diminution in the variety of interpretation. 
Nor do we find uniformity, either among commentators of the 
same language, or even among com.mentators of the same Church. 

The rw/e, by which the Church of Rome decides in the inter- 
pretation of Scripture, is that which is commonly kncvn by the 



INXJ^iRPRETATION OF THE SCRlPTUIlES. ilS9 

name of Tradition: and, as the meaning of Scripture is made suh- 
jcct to this Rule, the Rule itself is necessarily considered as mde- 
pendent of Scripture. It is represented, therefore, as derived 
from the Apostles through a different channel than that of their 
own writ'mgs. It is represented as a doctrine handed down b^ the 
Fathers of the Church, who are considered as the depositories of 
this Rule, whence it is inferred that the expositions in which they 
agree, are the true expositions of Scripture. Now all this is mere 
matter of opinion, and is calculated solely to support the ciedit of 
the Church of Rome. rhere is not the slightest historical evidence, 
that the Apostles transmitted to posterity any Rule, but what is 
recorded in the New Testament. The Fathers therefore are pre- 
cisely on the same footing with respect to the authority of their in- 
terpretations, as the commentators of the present age. 

When our reformers had discarded Trndition^ as a guide to the 
meaning of Scripture. They interpreted the Bible, as they would 
have interpreted any other work of antiquity; and for that pur- 
pose they employed the erudition, by which our early Reformers 
were so highly distinguished. When they abandoned therefore 
the guidance of Tradition, they supplied its place by Reason and 
Learning, These invaluable substitutes, these qualities of ster- 
ling worth, have been exchanged in modern times for baser met- 
al; and the Scriptures have been committed to the guidance of 
disordered imaginations. Nay, our Reformers themselves have 
been pressed into the service of ignorance and fanaticism; and 
expressions which they applied to oite purpose have been grossly 
misapplied to another. 

Of These expressions therefore it is necessary to give an explana 
tion. One of these expressions is, Hhat the Bible is its oii;7i interpret- 
er.' An expression, meant only to exclude Tradition^ has been made 
a pretence for the exclusion of Theological Learning; and the max- 
im, that i\\Q Bible is its own interpreter, has been carried so far 
in the present, as well as in a former age, that men, who can 
scarcely read the Bible, have dreamt that they are able io expound\i« 

Rule IV. Cojrefully distinguish the figurative language of the Scrip- 
ture. All languages are more or less figurative, but they are most 
so in their early state. Then scarcity of words make? it necessa- 
ry to extend their use beyond the literal sense. Besides figura- 
tive language presents a kind of picture to the mind, and thus de- 
lights while it instructs. The Hebrew is highly figurative both in 
the prophetical and poetical parts of the Old Testament: and the 
discourses of Christ are not less figurative than the language of 
the Prophets. If a word have only one sense, that is literal. If 
it have many, that which most easily gives rise to all the rest is the 
primary; that which most resembles it must be the second, and 
so onward, till we form a genealogy of senses. No Lexicograph- 
er has paid so much attension to this genealogy of senses, a» 
Schleusner in his superexcellent liexcon to the Greek Testament. 



^^40 INlEPuPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTUftES. 

The chief figure which merits the attention of an interpreter is 
Metaphor; for it is more frequently employed than all other rhet- 
orical figures collectively. As similitude is the foundation of fig- 
urative language, in general, it is especially of Metaphor. In- 
deed a Metaphor is itself a simile, though it does not assume the 
form of a simile. Thus if we say of a theologian, he supports the 
church as a pillar does an edifice, we use a simile, but if we con- 
tract the expression and say he is a pillar of the church, the simi- 
le is converted into a Metaphor, and the word pillar changes its 
literal for a metaphorical sense. 

An allegory may be considered as a continued Metaphor. The 
term, according to its original denotes a representation of one thing 
intended to excite the representation of another. Every allegory 
must be submitted to a two -fold examination. In the interpreta- 
tion of the narrative, we are concerned only with the literal im- 
port of the words; m the interpretation of the allegorical represen- 
tation we are then concerned with the interpretation of things. 
The narrative itself is commonly fictitious^ but the object of the 
allegory is to convey some useful moral. In the Parable of the 
Sower our Saviour first gives the narrative or immediate represent- 
ation of the Allegory, then to the disciples he gave the ultimate 
representation, or the allegorical interpretation."^ 

The literal interpretation of the Scriptures is to be followed 
"wherever it does not involve an obscurity, impossibility, or some- 
thing contrary to the context, analogy, or scope of the passage; 
and figurative expressions, which chiefly occur in the moral p^irts 
of Scripture, ought to be regulated by those that are plain and of 
easy interpretation. The real sense of a passage, is not any sense 
which the words will bear, nor any sense which is true in itself; 
but only that which was intended by the writer in that particular 
passage. 

*There are other figures of speech which deserre the Reader ''s attention: 
these are Metonomy, Synecdoche^ Irony, and Hyperbole. In JMeionomy the 
<:ause is put for the effect, as Christ for his doctrine; Rom. xvi. 9. The Au- 
thor for his book; Luke xvi. 29, and xxiv. 27. Mouth and tongue for 
speech; Deut. xvii. 6, and Mat. xviii. 16. 2 The effect for the cause, as 
when God is called salvation, and Christ wisdom and righteousness. 1 Cor. 
i. 30. 3 The quality for the subject as circumcision for the circumcised. 
Rom. lii. 30. Sin for sinners. Is. i. 18. 

Synecdoche is a figure in which the whole is put for a part and the part for 
the whole, certain numbers for uncertain Irony says one thing and means 
another: as Elijah addressing the Prophets of Baal, 1 Kings xviii. 27, and 
Solomon the young man, Eccl. xi. 9; see also judges x. 14, and Mark viii. 
9. Hyperbole, greatly magnifies or diminishes beyond the proper limits, as 
when lofty things are ssid to reach up to heaven, and rivers of tears to run 
from the eves. 



HISTORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

The History of the Scriptures is of the very highest importance 
to the biblical Student, and is comprehensive and diversifiel. But 
as all that can be given here, is only that department which tends 
immediately to the Criticis.n of the Nevv Testanent I shall con- 
fine myself to brief notices of the Variois Retdinjs, Manuscripts. 
Versions, Printed Editions, and the Chronology of the New Testa- 
ment. 

All intelligent persons must know, that before the invention of 
Printing in the fifteenth century, the sacred scriptures, like ;dl 
other writings, must have existed only in Manuscript: or by oral 
tradition. If by oral tradition, they must have been at some time 
reduced to manuscript. These records written on paper or parch- 
ment, being considered a revelation of God, would be frequently 
transcribed, and the copies greatly multiplied. Wherever Jews 
or Christians were dispersed, they would carry with them copies of 
the Jewish or Christian Scriptures; and these copies would be more 
or less accurate, as they were less or more remote from the Auto- 
graphs of the sacred writings; or as they had been transcribed by 
more or less skilful persons. 

The Greek manuscripts of the Gospels, with which Vv8 are ac- 
quainted, amount to mor? than three hundred and fifty. But 
among all these manuscripts- there is none, which is so far entitled 
to precedence, as to be received for the true copy, of which we 
are in search. In fact the truth Vies scattered amon^ them all: and 
in order to obtain the trutlif we must gather from them all. Nou 
is an examination of these manuscripts, numerous as they are, 
alone sufficient for the object, which we have in view. The quo- 
tat'ons from the Greek Testament in the voluminous writings of 
the Greek fathers, must likewise be examined, that we may know 
what they found in their Greek manuscripts. The ancient versions 
must also be consulted, in order to learn what the writers of thosa 
versions found in their copies of the Gieek Testament. When all 
these collections from manuscripts, faHiers, and versions, have 
been formed, and reduced into proper order, v/e have then to de- 
termine in every single instance, which among the various read- 
ings is probably the genuine reading* And that we may know 
hoiuto determine, we must establish laws of criticism, calculated 
to counteract the cause, which produced the variations, aim, by 
these means, to restore the true copy ^ of which we are in search. 

"Now it cannot be supposed that labours, for which, when ta- 
ken collectively, no single life is sufficient, would be recommended 
even by a zealot in his profession, as forming a reo;ular part of the- 
ological study. Those labours are unnecessary for us; they have 
been already undertaken, and executed with success. But we must 
make ourselves acquainted with the causes, which produced the 
variations in question, or v/e shall never know, whether the laws 



,•24^2 ]ili)TUR'i Of iHK SCRii'TLilES. 

of criticism, which profess to remedy that evil, are founded iu 
truth or falsehood. We must inquire therefore, first, into the 
causes of the evil, and the?i into the remedies, which we shall find 
have been applied with great success. 

The manuscripts of the Greek Testament, during the fourteen 
hundred years, which elapsed from the apostolic age to the inven- 
tion of printing, were exposed, like ail other manuscripts, to mis- 
takes in transcribing: and as every copy had unavoidably sowi^e er- 
rors, those errors multiplied Vv'ith the multiplication of the copies. 
Xietters, syllables, and words were added, omitted, or transposed, 
from mere carelessness in writing, whether the writer transcribed 
from a manuscript before him, or wrote, as was frequently the 
case, from the dictation of another. In the latter case, his Cfir 
might be deceived by a similarity in the sound of different words; 
in the former case, his eye might be deceived by a similarity in 
their /orw, by different words having the same final syllable, or 
by different sentences having the same final word. At other times, 
a transcriber misunderstood the manuscript, from which he copi- 
ed, either by falsel}- interpreting its abbreviations, or falsely divi- 
ding the words, where they were written (as in the most ancient 
manuscripts) without intervals. Or the fault might be partly at- 
tributable to the manuscript itself, in cases, where its letters were 
wholly or partly effaced or faded. 

But the greatest variations arose from alterations made by de- 
sign. The Transcribers of the Greek Testament were not bound, 
like the transcribers of the Hebrew Bible, by rules prescribed to 
them in a Masora, or critical law book: hence they often took 
the liberty of improvbig, as they supposed, on that manuscript, 
of which it was their business to have given only a copy; a liber- 
ty similar to that, which is now taken in a printing-office, v/here 
a compositor often improves on the manuscript of an author- 
Hence, a native of Greece, accustomed to hear his own language 
•without an admixture of Oriental idioms, and regarding therefore 
a Hebraism or a Syriasm, in the light of a solecism, would accor- 
dingly correct it, not considering or not knov/ing, that these He- 
braisms and Syriasms are the very idioms, which v^e should ex- 
pect from Greek writers, who were born or educated in Judea: 
and which therefore form a strong argument for the authenticity 
of their writings. At other times, these same improvers, when 
they "remarked that one Evangelist recorded the same thing more 
fully than another, regarded this v/ant of perfect coincidence as 
an imperfection, which they deemed it necessary to remove, by 
supplying the shorter account from the longer. Nor did they 
spare even the quotations from the Old Testament, whether those 
quotations were transcripts from the Septuagint, or translations 
from the Hebrew by the author himself If they only differed 
from the transcriber's Septuagint, he concluded that they were 
wrong, and required amendment. 



But the most fruitful source of uesigueLl alterations was tliG 
removal of marginal annotations into the text. Indeed to this 
cause maj be ascribed t!ie alterations from parallel passages, when- 
ever those parallel passages had been written in the margin. Oth- 
er marginal notes consisted of explanations, or applications of the 
adjacent text, and when a manuscript, with such notes, fell into 
the hands of a transcriber, he either supposed, that they were 
parts of the text, accidentally omitted; and supplied in the mar- 
gin, or considered them as useful additions, v/hich there would be 
no harm in adopting. In either case he took them into the text of 
that manuscript, which he himself u'as writing. 

The latter case may indeed be referred to that class of various 
readino-s, which derive their origin from wilful corruption, being- 
introduced for the sole purpose of obtaining support to some par- 
ticular doctrine. That such things have been done, and done bv 
all parties, is not to be denied: for we have examples on record. 
But as w-e have received our manuscripts of the Greek Testament, 
not out ©f the hands of the ancient heretics, but from the ortho- 
dox members of the Greek church, we have less reason t© appre- 
liend, that they have suffered, in points of doctrine, from heretical 
influence." 

False readings are of four kinds, — Omissions, Additions, Trans- 
positions, and Alterations; and each of these may be of Letters, 
of Words, or of Clauses. 1. Ouiissions easily happen through 
carelessness, but sometimes they have been made by design: They 
tend to alter, pervert, or destroy the sense, which will be restor- 
ed by supplying them. Oinissions of entire words are very fre- 
quent; Lowth says there are fifty such Omissions in Isaiah: 
They always introduce obscurity, absurdity, or a different sense. 
Sometimes omissions of whole clauses have happened, which in a 
variety of ways, mutilate or vitiate the import of the sacred scrip- 
tures. 2. Additions and Interpolations have arisen from a variety 
of causes particularly from taking marginal glosses into the text; 
which disturb or destroy the sense. S. Transpositions of letters 
and words have frequently occurred, which produce unintelligibil 
icy and confusion. There are also transpositions of wholcclauses, 
sentences, or even chapters, vvhich occasion various difficulties. 
4. Lastl}', there are many false readings which consist in change 
or alterations of letters, words, and sentences, which do not fail 
to produce alterations in the sense. 

MANUSCRIPTS. 

The autographs, or manuscripts of the New- Testameiit, ■,/.,.. .. 
were written either by the apostles themselves, or by amanuenses 
under their immediate inspection, have long since perished; and 
v/e have no information whatever concerninfr their history. The 
pretended autograph of Mark's Gospel at Venice, is now known 
to be nothing more than a copy of the Latin version, and no ex- 



:244 Hibi'ORY or THE SCKiPTUliEb. 

isting manuscripts of the New Testament can be traced higher 
than the fourth century; and most of them are of still later date. 
Some contain the whole of the New Testament; others comprise 
particular bojks or fragments of books; and there are several 
which contain, not whole books arranged according to their usual 
order, but detached portions or lessons appointed to be read on 
certain days in the public service of ti e Christian church; from 
which again v. hole books have been put together. These are call- 
ed Leciionana^ and are of two sorts: 1. Evangellsteria^ contain- 
ing lessons from the four Gospels; and, 2. ApostGlij comprising 
lessons from the Acts and Epistles, and sometimes onlv the Epis- 
tles themselves. When a manuscript contains both parts^ Mich- 
aelis says that it is called Apostolo Evangelion. Forty- six Evan- 
gelisteria were collated by Griesbach for the four Gospels of his 
edition of the New Testament; and seven Lectionaria or Aposto- 
li, for the Acts and Epistles. 

The oldest Greek Manuscripts were usually writte»3 on Vellum 
in capital or f/jicia/ letters till the seventh cettury, mostly without 
any division of words. Some copies have purple coloured Vellum, 
and are ornaroented. The MSS. on paper are of later date: 
Those on cotton paper are posterior to the ninth, and those on lin- 
en are subsequent to the twelfth century. The use of the capi- 
tal letters appears to have prevailed till the eighth century; but 
since the tenth century the Greek manuscripts are uritten in small 
letters. The most ancient MSS. are written without any accents, 
spirits, stops, or separation of words; nor was it tiil after the 
ninth century that the Copyists began to leave spaces between the 
words.* 

'*-' Although there are some full poinlsiised la the Alexandrine, Vatican, and 
Cambriitg-e MSS. yet it cannot be sliown that our present svstem of punctua- 
lioD was generally adopted, sooner than the ninth century. Erncsti observes 
from C}ril of Jerusalem, that the punctuation of the Septuagint (and conse- 
quently of the Ni-vv Testament) was unltnown in the early part of tlie fourth 
century. Jerome began to add the comma and colon,, which were aftei-vvards 
inserted in many ancient MSS. lu l!ie ancient MSS. of the New Testament 
the several books wnre written in one continued series, without any blank 
.s^ce, so that a whole book seemed only one woid: and the numerous mis- 
lakes of the Fathers, prove that they had no system of punctuation in the 
fourth century. Indeed the accents, pomts, and aspirates of tbe JXevv Testa- 
ment appear to be an imitation of the Jewish Masorites. 

The most ancient divisions of the ISew Testament were the Titles of Ta- 
tian and the Sections of A'nrnonius, who made these divisions for the conven- 
ience of arranging their Harmonies of the Gospels. The first who divided 
the Latin Bible into ciiapters and Verses was Hugo Cardinalis, who composed 
the first Latin Concordance about the middle of the thirteenth century. A 
similar division was first made of the Hebrew Bible by Rabbi Nathan, who 
composed the first Hebrew Concordance about the middle of the fifteenth cen- 
tury; and the last improvement of the Verses, was made by Athias, a Jew of 
Amsterdam, in his beautiful edition of the Hebrew Bible printed in 1661. 
The verses into which the New Testament is now divided, were invented, in 



HlblORi. Wr THi. SCKlP'iVHEa. '"245 

The total number of Manuscripts that have been collateil for 
the New Testament amounts to nearly five hundred, but very few 
xfianuscripts contain the whole either of the Old or New Testa- 
ment. The greater part have only the Four Gospels, because they 
were most frequently read in the Churchesj others contain only 
the Acts of the Apostles and the Cathvolic Epistles; othi'ra again, 
have the Acts and Paul's Epistles; and a very few contain the 
Apocalypse or Kevelation. 

The Manuscripts written in Uncial or Capital letters, are de- 
signated in Griesbach's Prolegomena, by the Roman Capitals 
iVom A to X: those written in small letters are distinguished by 
numerals from 1 to 236. The Evangelistaria are indicated by fig- 
ures from I — 46. The books used by Matthi-ei are designated by 
the small letters of the Roman and Grecian alphabets, and figures 
from 1 — 20: amounting in all, to 355 Greek Manuscripts. The 
reader is referred to the second volume of Marsn's edition of 
Michaelis' Introduction, where he will lind a catalogue of 470 
Manuscripts, which have been collated for the New I'estament. 

The Manuscripts written in Uncial letters are preferred to oth- 
ers: of those A. B. C. D. and L. are the most valuable. The MSS. 
designated by I. N. O. P. Q. R. T. consist onl} of a few frag- 
ments; and cannot, therefore, be estimated of much importance. 
TMiose MSS. denoted by figures from I — 236, and also those of 
Mathaei, being all written after the tenth, and most of them from 
the eleventh to the sixteenth century cann< t be adduced as strong- 
evidence of a primitive readinc;. Tht; testimony of the MSS. A. 
B. C. D. L. and the Ancient Versions are the main pillars of the 
Evifngelical Scriptures. 

A. the Alexandrine Manuscript, written about the end of the 
fourth century, contains the Septuagint Version of the Old Testa- 
ment v^^hich has been edited by Grabe, and the New Testament, a 
tae simile of which was published by Dr. Woide in 1786. It was 
sent by Cyril Lucjiris, Patriarch of Constantinople, who brought it 
from Alexandria, as a present to Charles I. and is preserved in the 
British Museum. This MS. is of great and deserved estimation: 
it agrees to a remarkable extent with the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethi- 
opic Versions; and is equally remarkable for its agreement with 
the Byzantine class of MSS. in the Gospels; with the Alexandrine, 
m the Epistles of Paul; and w^ith the Western, in the Acts and 
Catholic Epistles. 

B. The Vatican Manuscript preserved at Rome containing the 
Greek Version of the Septuagint and the New Testament. This 
MS. contests the palm of antiquity with the Alexandrine, and 
and yields to none in real value. Michael is prefers it to the Alex- 
andrine. There is a remarkable co-incidence between this MS. 
and D. and L, It is written on parchment, in capitals, without 
imitation of Rabbi Nathan, by Robert Stephens for his Greek Concordance^ 
ind introduced into his edition of the Greek Testament in the vcar 1551. 



046 ]iliTOEY or : . :.;'llilKS, 

any division of chapters, verses, or words: and is as old as the 
end of the fourth century. Neither the Alexandrine nor the Vat- 
ican has the asterisks of Origen in the Septuagint, which Kenni- 
cott considers a proof that tbej were not taken from the Hexapla. 
The Alexandrine is said to approach the nearer to Origen, the Vat- 
ican to the Greek Text before the time of Orig- n. 

C. The Ephrern Manuscript, kept in the Royal Library at Pa- 
ris, a Codex Rescnptus, written on Vellum in large Uncial letters 
without accents or division of words. The first part contains 
several Greek works by Ephrem, the Syrian, under which was ori- 
ginally written the whole of the Greek Bible, of which many tra- 
ces are still visible. Professor Hug considers it older th m the 
Alexandrine, V^etstein assigns it to the beginning of the sixth 
century and Marsh to the seventh. It shows itself to be of Egyp- 
tian origin as it exhibits the Alexandrine Recension in its great- 
est purity, and favors the Latin Version. It is defective in many 
places, in the four Gospels as may be seen in Griesbach, 

D. The Codex Bezae or Cantahrlgie.nsis, the famous Cambridge 
MS. used by Beza in his edition of the New Testament, and. 
presented b}^ him to the L^iniversity of Cambridge in 1581. It 
contains the four Gospels and the Acts written on Vellom without 
accents, marks of aspiration, or spaces between the word?*. Wet- 
stein and Marsh suppose it to belong to the fifth centurj', but Dr. 
Kipling, the editor of the Fac Simile, thinks it much older than 
the Alexandrine and that it must have been written so early as the 
second century. It contains, besides the Greek, the Old Italic or 
Latin Version, and is a most invrJunble MS. Sixty-six leaves 
of this MS. are much torn or mutilated: but the splendid and 
correct fac simile of Kipling, will rencler any additional wear by 
collation unnecessary, for the only difference Porson himself could 
find, vv-as one letter in the margin. Some have imagined this MS. 
corrupted from the Latin, but Semler, Michaelis, Griesbach and 
Marsh have amply refuted the charge. 

D. In Paul's Epistles signifies the famous Codex Claromentarrds. 
This MS. is a perfect continuation of the Cainbridg;^ MS. con- 
taining the Greek text and Old Italic Version, of Paul's Epistles, 
It was found in the Monastery of Clermont, diocese of Bauvais, 
and used by Bez-^ together with the Cambridge MS. in preparing 
his edition of the New Testament. This MS. is also written on 
Vellum in large Uncial letters, but accents and aspirates have 
been added by a later hand. Its age is fixed to the sixth or sev- 
enth century. Dr. Eriward Harwood of Bristol, England, has 
followed these MSS. in his critical edition of the New 'restament. 
The Cambridge and Clermont MSS. were considered by him, the 
nearest to the text of the sacred originals of any MSS. now known 
to the world. 

L. The Royal MS. 62. in the Paris Library used by Stephens 
for his edition of tlic Greek Testament, in 1550. It v.^as written 



lilbTORY OF THE hCiaPTURi::}. --i' 

in the eighth or ninth centurj, and judged by ^lidiaelis to be one 
of tiie most valuable MSS. that has been coiiated. Griesbich be- 
lieves this MS. was transcribed from another very ancient one, 
v/hich had no accents, because the accents are often wanted, and 
frequeitlj wrong placed when they are inserted. This MS. har- 
monizes with the Alexandrine or Western edition^ and contains 
the four Gv)3pels, written in Uncial letters of an oblong form. 
There are in it references to the Ammonian sections and the Can- 
ons of Eusebius. 

CLASSIFICATION OF MANUSCRIPTS. 

The Eisis of Griesbach's sj'stem is the division of the Greek 
Manuscripts of the New Testament into three classes called Re- 
censions, each of which is considered an independent witness for 
the reading it contains. Hence the value of a Reading is estima- 
ted not according to the individual SIS. or the number of MSS. in 
which it is found but according to the classes by which it is sup- 
ported. Formerly authorities were rather numbered than weigh- 
ed j so that if a reading v/ere contair.ed in thirty MSS. out of fif- 
ty, the scale was supposed to turn in its favor. Nor was due at- 
tention paid to that necessary distinction between the antiquity of 
a MS. nnd the antiquity of its text. Wetstein in his Ammadver- 
uons annexed to his Greek Testament went a great way towards 
the reduction of sacred Criticism to a regular system: but we are 
principally indebted to Semler who laid the foundation, and to 
Griesbach, who raised the superstructure. 

From a comparison and combination of the readings exhibited 
by Wetstein it was discovered that certain ckaractcrislic readings 
distinguished certain MSS. Fathers, an<l Versions; others ?i second 
class; and others again a third class of MSS. Versions, and Fath- 
ers. It was also discovered that this three- fold classification had 
additional siip.port from the places where the MSS. were written, 
the Fathers lived, and the Versions were made. Hence arose three 
different classes which received the names of the Alexandrine^ the 
Byzantine, and {\\q Western Recensions * 

1. The Alexandrine Recension or edition including the Alex- 
andrine Manuscript of Pau''s Epistles, the Vatican MS. the 
Ephrem, the Royal MS. of Stephens, and those MSS. denoted in 

^Whatever causes, unknovcn to us, may have operated in producing- the ef- 
fect, there is no doubt thr^t those characteristic reading-s are really contained 
ia the manuscripts, fathers, and version?, and that the classification, which is 
founded on thern, is rouoded on ivvJh. Hence arises a new criterion of au- 
thenticitv. A -naioritv of individual manuscripts can nolon^^er be considered, 
either as decisive, or very important f n this subject. A majority of the Recen- 
sions, or Editions, is alone to be rescarded, as far as number is concerned. The 
testimor-.y of the individual manuscripts is applied to ascertain what is the read- 
ing' of this or that Edition: but the question of f ict bein^ once determined, it 
' -eases to be of consequence what number of manuscripts may be produced. 
^*her of the first, or of the second, crof the third of those Edition?. 



24S HISTORY OF THE SCRlPTUUEb. 

Griesbach's catalogue by the numerals 22, 33, 102, likewise 
the Sahidic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian and Philoxenian Ver- 
sions; also the quotations of Cleuiens Alexandrinus, Origjen, Eu- 
sebius, Athanasius, Ammonius, Cyril of Alexandria, Didymus, 
Nonnus, Isidore and Theodore of Pelusium. 

2. The Western Recension, including the Latin Versions, and 
the Latin Fathers after the time of Tertullian in Africa, Italy, 
and France; also the Cambridge MS. the Alexandrine in the Acts 
and Catholic Epistles, several of the Rojal MSS. at Paris, and 
some of the Vatican at Rome. 

3. The Byzantine text-is found in t]\Q four Gospels of the Alex- 
andrine MS. the Slavonic or Russian Version, and the vulgate or 
common printed editions of the Greek Testament: also the cita- 
tions of Chrysostom, Theophylac and other writers who fl unsh- 
ed in Greece and x\sia Minor in the fifth and sixth centuries. The 
MSS. of Mount Athns are referred to this edition by Michaelis, 
and all the citations of those writers who were subject to the Pa- 
triarch of Constantinople. 

Most of the Manuscripts now extant exhibit one of the texts 
above described; some are composed of two or three recensions. 
No individual manuscript preserves any recension in a pure state; 
but manuscripts are said to be of the Alexandrian or Western re- 
cension, as the appropriate readings of each preponderate. The 
margins of these manuscripts, as well as those cf the Ethiopic, 
Armenian, Pahidic, and Syr .-Philoxenian versions, and the Syri- 
ac version of Jerusalem, contain tl e Alexandrian variations for 
the Western readings, or vice v^rsa; and some Byz^intine manu- 
scripts have the Alexandrian or Western various lections in their 
margins. 

Each of these recensions has characteristics peculiar to itself. 
The Occident! or Western p^csf^rves harsh readings, Hebraisms 
and solecisms, which the Alexandrine has exchanged for readings 
more conformable to classic usage. The Western is characteri- 
sed by readin2;s calculated to relieve the text from difficulties, and 
to clear the sense: it fr^^quently adds supplements to the passa- 
ges adduced from the Old Testament: and omits words that ap- 
pear to be either repugnant to the context or to other passages, or 
to render the meaning obscure. The Alexandrine is free from the 
interpretations and transpositions of the Western recension. An 
explanatory reading is therefore suspicious in the Western recen- 
sion, and a classical one in the Alexandrine. The Bvzantine or 
Constantinopolitan recension (according to Gri»sbach's system) 
preserves the Greek idiom still purer than the Alexandrine, and 
resembles the Western in its use of copious and explanatory rea- 
dings. It is likewise mixed, throughout, with the readings of the 
other recensions.— -Such are the outlines of that system, which 
Griesbach has applied to the criticism of the Greek Testament. 



THE VEUSI0N5. 

The versions are translations of the scriptures, from the origin- 
al into other languages. All versions before the art of printing 
must have been made from some MSS. and consequently could 
only be a transcript of such MSS. as were used by the translators. 
But, as the MSS. differed among themselves, so the versions made 
from them, must differ also, according to the MSS. from which 
they were taken. Hence, both MSS. and versions contain vari- 
ous readings; but the most ancient MSS. and versions, and the 
most carefully written, will approximate the nearest to the ori- 
ginal Auti>graphs. — But as all the versions of different countries 
differ in their readings, it is evident they have been formed from 
different MSS. Some of the versions are nf much greater anti- 
quity than the oldest MSS. we now possess,; and are therefore in- 
estimably valuable, seeing they tend to show us the state of the 
MSS. at the time they were written. The principal ancieat ver- 
sions are the Greek, Syriac, Latin, Egyptian, Ethiopic, Armenian, 
Arabic, Gothic, and Slavonic. 

THE GREEK VERSIONS. 

The Septuagint is a version of the Old Testament, made into 
Greek before the time of Christ; and is introduced here because 
not only of its peculiar dialect which greatly tends to illustrate 
the language of the New Testament, biit also because it was used 
by our Lord and his Apostles, as the text-book of the Holy Scrip- 
tures: for v/henever Christ or his disciples refer to the Old Testa- 
ment, they invariably cite the words of the Septuagint. 

The Septuagint is so called from the Jewish account of seveuty- 
t\vo persons having been employed in making this famous transla- 
tion, or from its having received the approbation of the Jewish San- 
hedrin which consisted of seventy-two Elders. This is the most 
valuable and ancient Version of the Old Testament and was held 
in so much esteeiu both by Jews and Christians as to be constant- 
ly read both in synagogues and Churches. Dj-. Clarke* observes 
that "even in Jerusalem in the apostolic age, the Septuagint Ver- 
sion was quoted in preference to the Hebrew text. God was 
thereby preparing the way of the Gospel by bringing this version 
into general credit, which was to be the ineans of conveying the 
truths of Christianity to the whole Gentile world. How precious 
should this august and most important version be to every Chris- 
tian and especially to every Christian Minister. A Version with- 
out which no man ever did or ever can critically understand the 
New Testament. Without the assistance afforded by this version 
there never could have been a correct translation of the Hebrew 
text, since that language ceased to be vernacular. Without it 
even Jerome could have done little in translating the Old Testa- 
ment into Latin; and most biblical scholars know how much all the 

"^ Commentarv on Acts xv. 17. 



iaO Hl^iORY OF THE bCJilPTUKLS- 

modern versions of the Old Testament owe to Jerome's Vulgate.'* 
Since such are really the claims ot" the Septuaglnt, an unusual 
prolixity may be permitted in this particular notice of the Greek 
i5ible. The history of this version is involved in some obscurity. 
Some say Ptoleniy Philadelphius king of Egypt caused this version 
to be made for the use of the Alexandrine Library which he had 
founded, and for this purpose he sent Aristeas and Andreas, two 
distinguished oiiicers of his court to Eleazar the High Priest, to 
request of the latter a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures and persons 
who were equally skilled in the Hebrew and Greek languages to 
translate them. Af^cordingly seventy- two men (six chosen of 
each tribe) were sent to Ptolemy, who shut them up in the Island 
of Pharos till the version u'as accomplished. This relation is de- 
rived from an account ascribed to Aristeas and passed without re- 
monstrance for the long period of two thousand years. 

The veracity of Aristeas's narrative has been violently attack- 
ed by Scaliger, Prideaux, and Hody, and ably vindicated by Wal- 
ton. Vossius, Whiston, and Brett. Philo, an early Jewish writer 
states that Ptolemy Philadelphus sent to Palestine for some learn- 
ed Jews, each of whom executed a version of the Hebrew Scrip- 
tures in the Island of Pharos, which so exactly and uniformly 
agreed in words, phrases, and sense, as proved the writers to be 
no common interpreters. He adds that an annual festival was 
celebrated by the Alexandrian Jews, in the Island of Pharos, 
where the version was made till his time, to perpetuate its memo- 
ry and to thank God for so gi eat a benefit. Justin Martyr and 
Epiphanius both relate accounts of the 72 Interpreters being shut 
up in cells, and making versions so exact, as surprised the king, 
who loaded the translators with wealth and honors. Justin asserts 
the remains of the cells were visible in his time. 

The live books of Moses are generally believed to be much bet- 
ter translated than the other parts of the Septuagint, though Mi- 
chaelis is of opinion that of all the books of the Septuagint, the 
style and translation q^ the Proverbs is the best; the translators hav- 
ing clothed tlie most ingenious thoughts in as neat and elegant lan- 
guage, as was ever used by a Pythagorian sage, to express his phi- 
losophical maxims. Probably the Pentateuch alone was the work 
of the seventy, performed about 285 years before Christ: and this 
is more probable from the consideration that the Jews did not be- 
gin to read the other books in their synagogues, till about the year 
jTO before Christ, when Antiochus Epiphanes prohibited the read- 
ing of the lav/. From the very close resemblance of the text of 
the Septuagint to that of the Samaritan Pentateuch, some emin- 
ent critics have believed the former to have been translated from 
the latter; but the great accuracy and antiquity of both may ac- 
count for their agreement; and the veneration of the Jews for the 
law, may have been the cause of more labor being bestowed on 
the Pentateuch, than on other parts of their scriptures. The oth- 



HISTORY OF THE SCRIPTURES. i:f51 

er booRs may have been translated by different persaus at differ- 
ent times and the whole version finished 150 years before Christ. 

It is certainly manifest from the tVequent quotations mad- by 
Christ and his Apostles, that a Greek version of the Old Testa- 
ment was in general use and esteem at the commencement of the 
Christian dispensation: and the references of our Lord and his 
Apostles, to the Septuagint, whenever they cite tlie Old Testament, 
has stamped indelible honor on the Greek version. Indeed it 
must stand as the first and unrivalled copy of the sacred Scrip- 
tures: for being made at a very early period, the ?flSS. of the He- 
brew te^t, must have been in a much higher state of purity, than 
they could have been, many centuries afterwards. Moreover, 
where it differs from the Hebrew, it generally preserves what v/e 
have reason to prefer, as the ancient and genuine readings: for 
even where the translators did not understand their author, they 
commonly show what they found in his text, by the verbal close- 
ness of their imitation.' The Septuagint is a most valuable key 
to the Scriptures of the Old Testament; and its general accuracy 
greatly facilitates the acquisition of the Hebrew tongue. Nor is 
it valuable, only as an illustration of the Old Testament; for it al- 
so contributes to illustrate the New, v/hose penmen writing in the 
same language, referring to the Original, and using the same style 
with the 70 translators, often quoted their version, which they evid- 
ently held in great esteesn, and with which they were intimately 
acquainted. Hence it necessarily follows that the one class of wri- 
tings, should throw the clearest and strongest light on the other. 

The Septuagint version, though originally made for the Jews who 
spoke the Greek, and therefore'called Hellenists, in the Gospel of 
John and Acts of the Apostles, was the only copy of the Scrip- 
tures kn-rvvn or valued by the Greeks. It was the text commen- 
ted by Chrysostoni and Theodoret; it was this which furnished 
topics to Athanasias, Nazianzen, and B^sil; and from this foun- 
tain the stream was derived to the Latin Church, first by the Ital- 
ic version which was made from the Septuagint, and secondly by 
the study of the Greek Fathers. It was by this borrowed light 
that the Latin Fathers illuminated the Western hemisphere: and 
when the age of Cyprian, xAmbrose, Augustine, and Gregory suc- 
cessively passed away, this was the light put into the hands of the 
next dynasty of theologists, the schoolmen, who managed their 
theological disquisitions by the aid of this luminary alone. So 
that whether in Greek or Latin, it was still the Septuagint that 
was read, explained, and quoted as authority, for a period of fif- 
teen hundred years. 

There are generally reckoned four independent Editions of the 
Septuagint; the Comphtensian, in which variations were made in 
conformity to the Hebrew; — The Aldine, the Vatican, and Grabe's 
edition published chiefly from the Alexandrine MS. These edi- 
tions differ considerablv from one another, and therefore leave 



'2:»t2 JIL^TOKY OF THE, SCRirXURES. 

room for the judicious critic to improve on them all.— The be^t 
and most convenient editions of the Septuagint are those of Bos, 
IBreitinger, Reineccius, and Holmes; and the best Lexicographer 
for the Septuagint, as well as for the New Testament is Schleusner. 
We cannot dismiss this notice of the Septuagint without a brief 
historical description of some of its earliest editions or sister ver- 
sions, made in the second, third, and fourth centuries: especially 
those which gave rise to the labors of Origen, as also those which 
were subsequently derived from that immense work. 

ORIGEN'S HEXAPLA. 

The first writer, who appears to have paid attention to the Crit- 
icism of the Bible, is the celebrated Origen, who was born in E- 
gypt toward the end of the second century, and died at Tyre soon 
after the middle of the third. His criticism was directed to the 
emendation of the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew 
Bible. Origen himself relates in his Commentary on St. Matthew, 
that in the manuscripts of the Septuagint, which was become the 
Bible of the Greek Christians, such alterations had been made, 
either by design, cr through carelessness of transcribers, as to 
make the manuscripts materially difter from each other, and of 
course, even if no other cause prevailed, from the Hebrew Bible. 
Of this difference the Jews availed themselves in their controver- 
sies with the Christians, who, with a few exceptions, were ignor- 
ant of Hebrev,', while the Jev/s, cspeciall}' since the establishment 
of the school at Tiberias in Gallilee, had begun again to cultivate 
the original language of the Old Testament. This knowledge 
enabled them, in their controversies with the Christians, to detect 
the difference between the Hebrew and the Greek Bible: and, as 
it frequently happened, that the passages quoted by the Christians 
against the Jews, v/ere either not contained at all in the Hebrew, 
or contained there in a different shape, the arguments, which were 
founded on such quotations, fell immediately to the ground. It 
was sufficient to reply, "the words, which you quote, are not in the 
original." It is true, that an origiiial may be corrupted as well 
as a translation: and that the Jews were guilty of such corruptions, 
has been asserted both in ancient and in modern times. But 
when we consider the rules, which were observed by the Jews in 
transcribing the sacred writings, rules which were carried to an 
accuracy that bordered on superstition, there is reason to believe, 
that no work of antiquity ha* descended to the present age so free 
from alteration, as the Hebrew Bible. Nor does Origen appear 
to have suspected, that the differences between the Hebrew and the 
Greek arose from any other cause, than alterations in the latter. 
' He made therefore the Hebrew text the basis of those correc- 
tions, which he proposed to introduce in the Septuagint. For this 
purpose he formed a kind of Polyglot, which was not only a work 
of immense labour, but has served as a model, even to the signs 



HISTORY »F THE SGIIIPTURES. 2jo 

or marks of criticism, for later editors. It contained the whole ol 
the Old Testament, divided into columns, like our modern Poly- 
glot Bibles. The first column was occupied bjthe Hebrew. But, 
as very few of those persons, to whose immediate benefit his la- 
bours were directed, were acquainted even with the letters of that 
language, he added, in a «!eCond column, the Hebrew words in 
Greek letters, that his readers might have at least some notion of 
the form and sound of the Hebrew words. To express their 
meaning, he added, in a third column, a Greek translation from 
the Hebrew, which had been lately made by a Jew, of the name of 
Aquila, and which adheres so closely to the original, as frequent- 
ly to violate the common rules of Greek construction. The fourth 
column was occupied by another Greek translation of the Hebrew 
Bible, likewise lately made, but probably after the translation of 
Aquila. The author of this second Greek translation was Sym- 
machus, whose object was to give, not so much a /ifem/ translation 
of the Hebrew, as a translation expressive of the sense, and free 
as possible from Hebraisms, 

Having thus prepared the way for his proposed emendation of 
the Septuagint, Origen placed in the fifth column the amended text 
of the Septuagint; and in the sixth column another Greek trans- 
lation, which had been lately made by Theodotion. 

In this revision of the Septuagint, the first part of Origen's la- 
bour was to collate it throughout with the Hebrew; and wherever 
he found any word or words in the former, to which their was noth- 
ing correspondent in the latter, .such word or v/ords he did not ex- 
punge from the Septuagint^ but he inclosed them within certain 
marks expressive of their absence from the Hebrew, namely with 
an obelus, or mark of minus prefixed, and a crotchet at the end to 
express how far the obelus or mark of minus was meant to extend. 
On the other hand, where the Hebrew had any word or words, to 
■which there was nothing correspondent in the Septuagint, there he 
inserted such word or words, as were necessary to supply the de- 
ficiency. And, that the reader might always know where such in- 
sertions were made, he prefixed to them an asterisk, or mark of 
plus, again denoting by a crotchet at the end, what words the as- 
terisk was meant to include. And, as the version of Theoilotion 
held a middle rank between the closeness of Aquila and the free- 
dom of Symmachus, the additions in question wereVhiefly made in 
the words which were used by Theodotion.* For this preference 

*Aqui]a was a native of Sinopein Ponlus, who flourished in the beginning- 
of the second century, and made liis version of the Hebrew Text about the 
year 130. His translation was so extremely close and servile, that Jerome 
says it was a good dictionary of the Hebrew words. Theodotion was a natiye 
of Epbesus, who also made a. version about the year 150; for the versions of 
Aquila and Theodotion are both referred to by Justin, in his dialogue with 
Trypho, about 160. As Theodotion made use of both the Septuagint and 
Aquila's version — following sometimes the diction of the one and sometimes 
fhat of the other, and often mixing them both together, his style was mf^n-o 



-254 HISTORY OF THE SCRlPTUREfc. 

there was also another reason, Bamely, that the style of Theodo- 
tion more nearly resembled the style of the Septuagint, than ei- 
ther of the other translations, and therefore was better adapted to 
the purpose, to which Origen applied it. Hence also the transla- 
tion of Thecdotion very properly occupied the colun n adjacent to 
the corrected version of the Septuagint. In some instances, ei- 
ther where Theodotion's translation was defective, or for other 
reasons at present unknown, Origen used the words of Aquila or 
Symmachus. But in all cases he expressed bv the initials, the 
translations from which he copied. These were the sources, from 
which Origen drew in every part of the Old Testament. But in 
some books he used two other Greek translations, of which the au- 
thors are unknown: and in certain passages even a seventh Greek 
version, of which the author is likewise unknown. 

The name, which is commonly given to this work of Origen, is 
Biblia Hexapla, or Bible in six columns, which it contained 
throughout, namely, the Hebrew, the Hebrew in Greek characters, 
the version of Aquila, the version of Symmachus, the Septuagint 
version, and that of Theodotion. In these books, which contained 
likewise two anonymous versions, and filled therefore eight col- 
umns, it was called Biblia Octapla: and in the passages, where 
the third anonymous version occupied a ninth column, it received 
the name of Enneapla. On the other hand, as out of six columns, 
which went through the whole work, only four were occupied 
wnth Greek translations, the same work, which most writers call 
Hexapla, has by others beeft denominated Tetrapla. They are 
only different names of the same work, viev^^ed in different lights, 
though some authors have fallen into the mistake of supposing, 
from the difference in the names, that they denoted different works. 

The labour, which was necessary for a work of such magni- 
tude, can be estimated only by those, who have been engaged in 
similar undertakings. Eight and twenty years are said to have 
been employed in making preparations for it, independently of 
the time, which was employed in the writing of it. It was begun 
at Csesarea, and probably finished at Tyre. The text of the Sep- 
tuapnt, as settled by Origen, is called the Hexaplarian te-KU to 
distinguish it from the text of the Septuagint, as it existed before 
the time of Origen. 

Of the labors of Origen, in amending the iciit of the Septua- 

near that of the Septuagint, and was therefore generally followed by Orig'eD, 
when he altered any thing in the Septuagint Column of the Hexapla. The 
version of Symmachus, mzde about th6 year 200, is much more free and par- 
aphrastic than the others. He appears to have been better acquainted with 
the \z\vs of interpretation, than his predecessors; and has endeavored to ren- 
der the Hebrew idioms with Grecian precision. He often borrowed from the 
tbree other versions, but closely and faithfully followed the Hebrew Original. 
As the above translators were Ebionites, or Jewish Christians, they have been 
suspected for following the .Tewish mode of internretatior), but the charge has 
not been substantiated. 



HISTORY OF THE SClUPlUilEb. 

gint, Montfaucoii, the editor of the ^''Hexaplorum Origenis quae su 
persunt,^'' or "Remains of Origeu's Hexapla," has given a full ac- 
count in the preface. It was Origen's design to render the Bible 
of the Christians in all respects the same with the Bible of the 
Jews, that in future controversies there might be a common stand- 
art, to which both parties might ap['eal. The work, in its entire 
state, has long ceased to exist; and we are indebted, for our 
knowledge of it, to Eusebius and Jerome, both of whom consulted 
it in the public library at Cesarea, to which it had been removed 
from Tyre, after the death of Origen, by Pamphiius the founder 
of the Library, where it perished in the flames, on the irruption 
of the Saracens. 

In the beginning of the fourth century, Eusebius and Pamphi- 
ius made a new edition of the text of the Septuagint from the 
Hexapla, retaining Origin's critical marks, and inserting some oc- 
casional extracts from other versions. This edition v/as received 
by all the churches of Palestine, and deposited in almost every li- 
brary About the same time, Lucian a Presbyter of Antioch, un- 
dertook an addition of the vulgar Greek text, revised from the He- 
brew Original, which by the command of Constantine, the Great, 
was read in all the churches from Antioch to Constantinople. 
Nearly co-temporary with these editions, was that of Hesychius, 
an Egyptian Bishop, which prevailed in Egypt and became, accor- 
ding to Jerome, the Alexandrine cxe???;>/rtr. Though all these edi- 
tions were more or less dependent on Origen's liexpplarian edi- 
tion, they all differed among themselves. By frequent transcrip- 
tion, the marks of Origen-s insertions, became so changed as to be 
of little use, and were therefore finally omitted. The MSS. of 
Vulgate or Ante-Hexaplarian Septuagint soor fell intodisuse; and 
all the MSS. of this venerable and excellent version, now in ex- 
istence, are derived from the editions of Eusebius, Lucian, and 
Hesychius. So much for the Septuagint, the Queen of versions, 
and the Hexapla of Origen, the first exemplar of Polyglotts. 

SYRIAC VERSION. 
The Syriac Version is the most valuable of all the translations 
of the New Testament in existence. The learned and critical 
Wakefield says, this inestimable version would be ill-exchanged 
for all the manuscripts of the Greek Testament in the universe: a^d 
Michaelis pronounces it the best translation of the New Testa- 
ment for ease, elegance, and fidelity. This must be understood 
of the Ancient Syriac, called Peschito, which contains the books of 
the New Testament denominated Hoinologoniena, or acknowledged: 
these are the Four Gospels^ the Acts of the Apostles^ the Epistles of 
Paul, the Epistle of James, the first of John and the first of Peter. 
The second epistle of Peter, the second, and third of John, the 
epistle of Jude, and the Revelation a.'-e wanted in all genuine co- 
pies of the Syriac Version. 



■^00 HISTORY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

The Christian religion was first published in Syria, which in- 
cluded Judea, Samaria, and Phenicia. The language of our Lord 
and his disciples, as well as of myriads of the first Christians was 
Syriac: and as the Syrian Churches flourished most towards the 
end of the first and beginning of the second century, the Chris- 
tians having a temple at Edessa erected after the model of that at 
Jerusalem, it is generally believed, they had this ancient version 
both of the Old and New Testament, made for their use. The 
books of the Old Testament are translated from the Hebrew and 
those of the New frop^i the original Greek. The great uniformity 
between this version and the Septuagintof the Old Testament, and 
also the Old Italic in the New, has induced some critics to ima- 
gine, that the Ancient Syriac Version was taken from the Septua- 
gint and Italic: but the agreement only proves that the MSS. used 
for these versions agreed; and therefore their occurrence gives 
great authority to those readin^^s which have obtained their united 
suffrage. The version of the Old Testament is evidently made 
from the Hebrew, to which it closely adheres. Dathe considers 
the Syriac version as a certain standard by which we may judge 
of the state of the Hebrew text in the second century, Walton, 
Carpzov, Leusden, Lowth, and Kennicott fix its date to the first 
century. Michaelis, to the end of the first or beginning of the 
second century, and Jahn ascribes it at the la;test to the second. 
To its general fidelity almost every critic of note bears unqalified 
approbation. 

To the same date we assign that part of the version containing 
the New Testament. The Syriac was the prevailing dialect of 
Gallilee, and in that dialect to which our Lord and his disciples 
were accustomed, Matthew wrote his Gospel: and the most satis- 
factory reason that can be assigned for the obscurity of antiquity 
concerning the fate of Matthew's Hebrew original, is that it ap- 
proached the Syriac version so much, as to be either adopted or to 
iall into disuse after Ihat version was made. Postell says all the 
Syrian Christians agree in a tradition, that Mark made this trans- 
lation of the New Testament into his own language: But Alsted 
and Maritini say it ought to be ascribed to the first Christians at 
Antioch. Justin Martyr, who (as he tells us in his second apolo- 
gy) was a native of Neapolis in Samaria, assures us that the wri- 
tings of the Prophets and Apostles were read every Sabbath in 
the Christian assemblies. Now according to this testimony of 
Justin, the Syrians must have had a version of both the Old and 
New Testament about the commencement of the second century. 

The Internal evidence of its antiquity is equally striking. It 
wants the disputed epistles which is evidence either that it was 
made before these epistles were written, or before they were ad- 
mitted as scripture. It also wants the history of the adulteress,* 
found in the Cambridge MS. which is probably the oldest in ex- 
'^^ John yiii. 1 — 11. 



HIsTOKY OF Till: S(*;R1PTURKS. 257 

isteiice. though it often agrees with the Syriac where it ditTersfrom 
all others. It also wants the famous testimony of the three heav- 
enly witnesses.* 

This version was first made known in Europe by Moses of Mar- 
din, who was sent by Ignatius, Patriarch of the Maronite Christians, 
in 1552, to procure an impression of the Syriac New 1 estament, 
which was executed at Vienna in 1555, under the editorial care 
of Moses, Widmanstad, and Postell; and at the expense of the Em- 
peror Ferdinand I. The first edition of that part containing the 
Old Testament was that which appeared in the Paris Polyglott, 
and was afterward reprinted in Walton's. Schaaf's edition of the 
New Testament is good, and has an excellent Syriac Lexicon. 

The Philoxenian is another syriac version of the New Testa- 
ment, but greatly inferior to the Peschito, in elegance and accura- 
cy, notwithstanding it is of great value in showing the readings of 
the manuscripts from which it was made in the year 508, and also 
of those with which it was afterwards collated. It is called the 
Philoxenian version, from Phlloxenus, bishop of Hierapolis, under 
whose auspices it w^as made by Polycarp, his rural bishop. It was 
undertaken at the beginning of the sixth century, from motives at 
present unknown, though not improbably from a desire of having 
a translation of the New Testament, which should approach to the 
original even more closely, than the old or common version. For 
the Philoxenian version adheres to it, even with servilitj'. An 
ancient version, except in places where that version has been al- 
tered, is regarded as the representative of the Hebrew or Greek 
manuscript, from which that version wastaken^ consequently, the 
more closely such MS. is represented, the more accurately shall 
we know its readings, and hence the moro precisely shall we be en- 
abled to judge, v/hen the authenticity of readings is disputed. 

To render this close translation still more conformable with the 
original, it was callated with Greek manuscripts in Egypt, at the 
beginning of the seventh century. The person who undertook 
this collation was Thomas, bishop of Germanicia; and he not only 
corrected the Syriac tejit from those manuscripts, where he thouojht 
that correction was necessary, but at other times he noted their 
various readings in the margin. As these Various readings were 
taken from manuscripts of the Greek Testament, which were pro- 
bably much older, than the oldest now er^nt, they are of course 
important to sacred criticism. A copy of this revision or edition 
of the Philoxenian version, with the Greek readings in the mar- 
gin, is now in the Bodleian Library; and it has been printed by 
I)r. White, the Hebrew Professor at Oxford, with short, but very 
useful notes.! 

* 1 John V. 7. 

f There is a Svriac translation of Origen-s Hexaplar edition of the Septua- 
gint: specimens of which have been published by De Rossi, at Parma, Norberg-, 

at LorKlon, and Bng-ati, at Milan. This version contains the Hfgio^raohv 

9.^^ 



LATIN VULGATE. 

ChristianitY made its appearance in the world at a period when 
the Roman Empire became universal, and the Latin language, 
gradually supplanting the Greek, became nearly as triumphant as 
the Roman eagles. Augustine testifies that at a very early peri- 
od, the Latin Church possessed a great number of versions made 
from the originai scriptures, by authors unknown; for as soon as 
any one found a Greek copy and thought himself sufficiently skill- 
ed in both languages, he made a translation of it into the Latin. 
One of these translations seems to have acquired an extensive cir- 
culation, and became preferred on account of its clearnes and fi- 
delity. Augustine calls it the liala, undoubtedly because innde 
in Italy, but some critics think the v/ord is not a proper name, but 
a perversion of the pronoun ilia, and that Augustine meant to say 
•'Among the translations, those are preferred which are most liter- 
al and perspicuous;" but such torturing of phrases is hypercritic- 
al and trifling. 

The Old Italic version contained the whole of the Old and New 
Testament from the Greek made in the close of the first century, 
and is cited by Tertuliian in the second. A considerable part of 
this version still remains in the Eoernerian, Cambridge, and Cler- 
mont MSS. and might be collected. This version being extreme- 
ly literal is well adapted to point out the readings of the ancient 
Greek copies, and by reason of its antiquity, bestows great author- 
ity on those readings which it proves to have then existed. But 
before the end of the fourth century, ihe alterations cither design- 
ed or accidental, were become as numerous as the alterations of 
the Greek Bible before it was corrected by Origen: and as there 
was none better qualified than Jerome, a Monk of Palestine and 
the best Hebrician of all the Fathers, he was commissioned to un- 
dertake the task by Pope Damasus, who then presided over the 
See of Rome. 

Having revised the Latin version by collating it with the Hex- 
apla of Origen and Greek MSS. of the New Testament, he was 
unfortunate to commit his MSS. to some person who was enthusi- 
ast enough to either secrete or destroy them. But the loss sustain- 
ed by this treachery served only to stimulate Jerome to fresh exer- 
tions. He determined no longer to revise an old translation from 
the Greek, but to make a new translation of the books of the Old 
Testament from the Hebrew; and this he accomplished in the 
year 405. Prejudices against a new translation from the Hebrew 

and the latter Prophets, retains the obelus and other marks of Origen; 
and the subscription at the end, states that it was literally translated from the 
Greek copy, taken by Eusebius and Pamphilius, from the works of Origen, 
in the Library of Cesarea. There is also another translation of the New 
Testament, called Jerusalem Syriac, discovered by Alter in the "V atican li- 
brary at Rome. It is written in the dialect of Jerusalem; made from thf 
Trreek, in Palestine: and remarkably agrees Vviththe Camhridg-e Pvlanuscrip^ 



• HISTORY OL' IIIE SCRII'TURES. ^.)y 

and ill fiivor of the Greek Septiuigiiit, prevented the reception of 
Jerome's version for nearly two hundred years. At length, how- 
ever, Pope Gregory the great at the end of the sixth century gave 
to Jerome's translation the Sanction of Papal authority: and from 
that time the old translation from the Greek, except the psalms, 
was abandoned for Jerome's translation from the Hebrew. 

In the New Testament, the Latin Yuigate is the old translation 
corrected by Jerome from MSS. of the Old Italic, collated with 
the original Greek: so that the Vulgate at present is a mixture of 
the Old Italic and Jerome's corrections, and shows the state of the 
original Greek, partly in the firsts and partly in the/o?/r^/i century. 
It gives great authority to those readings which it clearl}^ indicates, 
contains several which are preferable to the present readings of the 
Greek, and is supported by some of the oldest and best MSS. 
where the vulgar Greek text has been corrupted. 

It must not, however, be inferred that the modern MSS. or 
printed editions ofthevulgate contain either Jerome's translation 
or Jerome's corrections in the same state in which he left them: 
for the Latin MSS. were no leis exposed to alterations in the mid- 
dle ages than they Vv-ere in the early ages of Christianity. Even 
the two famous editions of the vulgate called the Sextlne and Ck- 
mentine editions, printed at Rome in 1590 and 1592, both under the 
sanction of papal authority, and both pronounced authentic, differ 
materially from each other not only in words but also in sense, af- 
fording this useful lesson, that nothing but sacred criticism can 
preserve the Bible in its pristine purity. 

Protestants have been extravagant in their attempts to discredit, 
the vulgate and the Catholics still more extravagant in their un- 
(]ualilied eulogies. Cardinal Ximenes, author of the Compluten- 
sian Polyglott, compares the Latin Vulgate, placed between the 
Hebrew and Greek columns, to Jesus Christ, who v/as crucified 
helioeen two thievesW Let it suffice to say with Mosheim that Je- 
rome's is the best of all the Latin Versions: and he who can care- 
fully and understandingly peruse the Septuagint, Sj'riac, and La- 
tin versions, in connexion with the sacred originals, need not la- 
ment the wreck of ages nor loss of time. 

EGYPTIAN VERSIONS. 
The Coptic is a very ancient version made for the use of the 
Coptic Christians, in the language of lower Egypt, which, before 
the invasion of the Saracens, was a mixture of the Old Egyptian, 
and the Greek. Some critics believe this version to have been 
made about the time of the council of Nice, but others with Dr. 
Wilkins its learned editor, would assign it to the second century. 
This version contains the Old and New Testaments,- and is a 
translation of the Septuagint, in the Old, and of Greek in the New. 
Though the readings of this version have a striking affinity to the 
Latin, jet critics generally agree that it was wholly made from the 



rlbi) HISTORY Of THE SCRIPTURES. 

Greek: it follows the Septuagint in the peculiarity of ils phrase*, 
additions, omissions, and transpositions, and hence proves itself 
not to be derived from the Hebrew or Latin. Still some have sus- 
pected interpolations from the Latin. There is a partial affinity 
between it and the Armenian Version, and sometimes it agrees 
with the readings of the Cambridge, but generally with those of 
the Alexandrine MS. and of Origen, Eusebius, and Cyril. This 
version is of considerable use in criticism, particularly as it gave 
rise to the Arabic after this language became established in Egypt. 
The Sahidic is another very ancient version, made in the lan- 
guage of Upper Egypt in the second century. In 1799, Dr. Ford 
published at Oxford a number of fragments of the Sahidic, amoun- 
ting to about one third of the New Testament, which had been pre- 
pared for the press by Dr. Woide as an appendix to his fac-simile 
of the Alexandrine MS. A manuscript of the Sahidic was brought 
from Egypt by the celebrated traveller Dr. Bruce. Woide be- 
lieved a version of the whole Bible was made into the Sahidic in 
the beginning of the second century, and by him and others it is 
esteemed as a most invaluable MS. Though both the Egyptian 
versions were made from the Greek, they seem to be independent, 
and to contain different readings. 

THE ETHIOPIC. 

The Ethiopic is another ancient version, made for the use of 
Abvssinian Christians, probably by Frumentius, in the fourth cen- 
tury. This much is certain, that Frumentius being banished by 
the emperor Constantius into Egypt, was placed by Athanasius, 
as Bishop of Acco, then, Axunia, the chief city of Ethiopia. The 
books of the Old Testament are translated from the Septuagint, 
those of the New, from the Greek. The version of the Gospels 
is vastly superior to that of the Epistles. The Apocalypse is ad- 
ded as an appendix. The MS. of the Acts being very imperfect, 
its chasms were filled by translations from the Vulgate. Its vari- 
ous readings agree with the Alexandrine, many of its peculiar rea- 
dings are thought to be erroneous, but where it appears to be ex- 
act, its antiquity adds considerable authority. It was the first 
printed of all the ancient versions. The Roman edition of 1548, 
was reprinted in the London Polyglott. 

THE ARMENIAN. 

The Armenians have a version of the entire Bible in their lan- 
guage, which is very diiferently estimated by the learned. This 
Version is unanimously ascribed to Miesrob, the inventor of the 
Armenian Alphabet, and to the Patriarch Isaac, about the end of 
the fourth, or beginning of the fifth century. It was first made 
from the Syriac; but the New Testament was afterwards transla- 
ted from the Greek. Michaelis and Gerard say it was altered, in 
many places, in the thirteenth cejjtury, to render it more confor- 



lilSTOllY OF TKE SCRIPTUllES. 26i 

mable to the Latin Vulgate. A critical edition of the entire Ar- 
menian Bible was published at Venice, in 1806, bj Dr. Zohrab, 
a learned Armenian, who collated sixty-nine MSS. eight of the 
entire Bible, fifteen of the Psalms, thirty-two of the Gospels, and 
fourteen of the Acts and Epistles. In this edition Dr. Zohrab 
expunged the famous text of the three hewenly witnesses; it being 
unsupported by any of the MSS. which he had collated. This 
version preserves a singular reading in the twenty-seventh chapter 
of Matthew; ^^wkom will ye that I release unto you, Jesus Barabhas 
or Jesus called Christ? Origen gives the same reading, in his thir- 
ty-fifth Homily on Matthew. 

THE ARABIC VERSIONS. 

The Arabic being the refined and universal language of Asia has 
been honoured with more translations of the Scriptures than any 
other of the Oriental languages; and it is very probable, some of 
them have been made from the Greek, some from the Syriac, and 
others from the Coptic. AH the Arabic versions are posterior to 
the time of Mahomet, and were, therefore, probably not finished 
sooner than from the eighth to the tenth century; notwithstanding 
they are valuable as they represent the state of the Greek, Hebrew, 
Syriac, and Coptic MSS. from which they were taken after the 
Saracens subdued Syria and Egypt, Moreover as the language 
is one of the most copious in the world, and a daughter of the 
Hebrew, it greatly aids in the investigation of the Hebrew words, 
and in the elucidation of many passages. 

There are three principal editions of the Arabic, to which ref- 
erences are made by Griesbach. 1. That printed at Rome in 1591 
probably taken from the Greek; 2. that printed in the Paris and 
London Polyglotts with numerous corrections; 3. that printed by 
Erpen 1616, taken from two manuscripts, one of the Gospels writ- 
ten in the thirteenth, and the other of the Acts and Epistles writ- 
ten in the fourteenth century; formed imm-^diately from the Greek, 
but interpolated from the Syriac. But some say from the Greek, 
in the Gospels, and Syriac, in the Epistles. This edition of Er- 
pen, is considered much more valuable than any other of the Ar- 
abic New Testament. 

The edition of the Arabic Bible printed at Rome, in 1761, by 
the congregation De Propaganda Fide, and the Arabic New Tes- 
tament, printed at London in Ti727, by tl^^ society for promoting 
Christian knowledge, are so altered by their editors, the former 
from the Latin, and the latter from the Greek, as to be of no val- 
ue to the Biblical Student. 

THE GOTHIC, 

Of this version there only remain the four gospels, which is 
generally called the Codex Argenteus, because written in silver 
letters. It was discovered in the abbey of Werden, in Westpha- 



lia; and is preserved in the University of UpsaL This MS. is 
generally believed to be part of the Gothic version, made by Ul- 
philas, a Cappadocian by birth, but a famous Bishop of the Meso- 
Goths in the fourth century. Some, hovi^ever, who have examined 
the MS, affirm it to be an old Frankish version, made after the 
middle of the sixth century. It is allowed by all to be extremely 
literal and well calculated to show the readings of the Greek MSS. 
from which it was taken. The best edition is that of Dr. Lye, 
published at Oxford in 1750. 

THE SLAVONIC. 

The Slavonic or Russian version was made from the Greek, by 
two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, in the ninth century; and was 
but little known in criticism till described by the very learned 
Dobrowsky, a man of unrivalled knowledge in Slavonic literature. 
This excellent version contains three-fourths of all the readings 
adopted by Griesbach, in his edition of the Greek Testament: and 
it is farther said that where the united evidence of ancient MSS. 
is against any of the common readings, the Slavonic agrees with 
these MSS. Hence it follov/s, that this version must have been 
been faithfully translated from very ancient MSS. and is there- 
fore valuable for the purpose of biblical criticism. In all the edi- 
tions, prior to the year 1653, the memorable text in iirst John is 
omitted. It is so literal, as frequently to preserve the Greek 
construction, contrary to the genius of the Slavonic language.*' 

PRINTED EDITIONS. 

Having proceeded so far in the history of the Scriptures, par- 
ticularly of the New Testament, as to give a general view of the 
manuscripts and those ancient versions which are of importance 
to the criticism of the Scriptures, I shall now briefly notice the 
printed editions. In this department of the History we shall fol- 
low the very natural and appropriate division of Marsh into two 
periods. The first commencing with the Erasmian edition and 
ending with the Elzevir of 1624: the second includes the critical 
editions which have appeared from that time to the present. 

'■^'- It was with some reluctance that we admitted the Slavonic amoDg- the an- 
cient versions: but the high eulogies of Matthaei, Dobrowsky, and others 
have tended to raise the reputation of this version. We ought, however, to 
consider that the Russian Church being a daughter of the Greek Church, the 
Moscow manuscripts were of course collected from Constantuiople, and other 
parts of the Greek empire. They belong therefore to that particular class, 
which modern critics have called the Byzaniine edition, and which cannot be 
entitled to the exclusive privilege of ascertaining what is genuine or spurious. 
The Greek Fathers who have lived at Alexandria, the Greek manuscripts 
which accord with their quotations, and those ancient versions which harmon- 
ize with both, have at least an equal claim to our attention. Nor ought we to 
decide before we have heard the 6vidence of a //lir^Z class of manuscripts, con- 
taining the Greek text accompanied with the ancient Latin ver^ioo. 



HISTORY OF THE RECEIVED TEXT. 

That edition of the Greek Testament,, which proceeded i'vum 
the celebrated press of the Elzevirs at Lejden, in 1624, has been 
called the Received Text, because it has been universally received, 
and scrupulously printed, word for word, during the last two cen- 
turies: indeed it has been generally regarded with superstitious 
veneration as containing the very words and letters of inspiration 
which nothing less than impiety would dare to alter or change. 
But now a flood of light having broken forth from the discoveries 
and labours of the two last centuries, we have fully ascertained 
that the Received text, in many places exhibits both corruption and 
fraud which have been canonized by ignorance and superstition. 

At the invention of printing, great ignorance prevailed in liter- 
ature and religion: hence the best helps, had they been at hand, 
W'ould not likely have been usedj and the first editions, being 
made from only a few late MSS. corrnpted by a thousand trans- 
cribers, must therefore have been extremely imperfect. That the 
best helps were not used, and great negligence and superstition 
manifested in the first editions, will easily appear from the follow- 
ing brief description, 

ERASMIAN EDITIOISS. 

Erasmus was the first who published an edition of the Greek 
Testament; for though the Complutensian was first printed, it was 
not published until sometime after that of Erasmus. The circum- 
stances were os follow: After the Complutension edition was 
wrought oif, for the fifth volume, containing the Greek Testament, 
is dated January 10th, 1514, it remained some time unpublished, 
waiting for a license from Pope Leo the tenth. Meantime Eras- 
mus being engaged in superintending the publication of Jerome's 
works at Jiasle in vSwitzsrland, Froben the Printer, offered him 
a certain sum if he could prepare an edition of the Greek Testa- 
ment in a given time, as the profits arising from the sale would 
much depend on its being issued from the press before the publi- 
cation of the Complutensian. The application was first made 
April 17, 1515, and repeated on the 50th of the same month: and 
yet notwithstanding that Erasmus had sufficient employment at 
the works of Jerome, on the following February, out came a Greek 
Testament with a latin version in a parallel column with the 
Greek, and the whole liberally furnished with a copious collection 
of annotations! Jocosely speaking of this hasty production, 
Erasmus says in one of his letters shortly after, I have just esca- 
ped from my confinement at Basle, where I have performed tht- 
work of six years in eight months! 

This Edkio pnnceps of the Greek Testament was prepared from 
only four MSS. the first containing the Gospels is adjudged bv 
Wetstein to the fifteenth century, and conseauentlv entirelv nev 



'ZdA HibiuRV Ox TH£ SCKiPlUflES. 

when employed by Erasmus^ tlie seconil containing the Acts and 
Epistles was written, according to Mill, in the thirteenth century; 
both of these are still preserved at Basle, with the notes and cor- 
rections of Erasmus marked in the margin: the third MS. con- 
tained only the book of the Revelation. From these three MSS. 
constituting only one copy of the whola Testament he printed his 
edition, but not from these unaltered. He had a manuscript of 
Theophylact containing his commentary on the Gospels, Acts, and 
Epistles, and another MS. of the whole New Testament except 
the apocalypse. The corrections therefore made on the margins 
of his three MSS. were partly from his fourth MS. of which he 
made almost no use, suspecting that it was corrupted from the 
vulgate; partly from the MS. of Theophylact, who being the last 
of the Fathers and living in the eleventh century, his works could 
only pass as a MS. of that age; and partly from hasty, and often 
erroneous conjecture: for he who feared to use a manuscript, sus- 
pected of being interpolated from the Latin, did not scruple, when 
his other materials failed, to interpolate Greek of his own making 
from the Latin vulgate. In this edition Dr. Mill discovered about 
500 vitiated passages. A second edition followed the first within 
the space of three years, in which from advice of friends or colla- 
tion of MSS. ha altered the terd in four hundred places, but accor- 
ding to Mill, in seventy, for the worse. In a third edition, 1522, 
Erasmus made some alterations, through legard to popular preju- 
dice, contrary to his own convictions, one of which was the inser- 
tion of 1 John V. r. These three editions were published before 
the appearance of the Complutensian, which had remained eight 
years, at Alcala, unpublished, on account of the death of Cardin- 
al Ximenes: but in a fourth edition, 1527, Erasmus corrected the 
text of the Revelation, v/here he had only one defective MS. in 
90 placed from the Complutensian edition, but in only 26 places in 
all the other books. The fifth and last edition of Erasmus, prin- 
in 15S5, differed from the fourth, according to Dr. Mill, in only 
four places. 

\ THE COMPLUTENSIAN. 

This edition is called the Complutensian from Complutum, now 
Alcala, in Spain, where it was printed under the patronage of Car- 
dinal Ximenes, who employed some of the most distinguished He- 
brew and Greek scholars of that age, & spared neither pains nor ex- 
pense in procuring materials for this work: and as all editors are 
disposed to advance the value of their materials, the Complutensian 
editors boasted of having the most ancient and correct MSS. and 
especially of some sent to them from Rome, which induced many 
to believe they had used th? famous Vatican; but the examination 
of Professors Alter and Marsh have satisfied the critics, that no 
use whatever v/aa made of the Vatican, and that no reading pecul- 
iar to that venerable ^IS. can be found in the Complutensian edi- 



HISTORY or THK SCRIPTURES. 265 

tion. For wherever the modern Greek MSS. of the thirteenth, 
fourteenth, aud fifteenth centuries differ from the ancient MSS. 
and quotations of the early Greek Fathers, in such characteristic 
readings the CompUitensian Greek Testament almost invariably 
asrrees with the modern, in opposition to the ancient Greek MSS- 
Whatever zeal therefore, may have been displai^ed by the Cardin- 
al and the learned men who assisted him, this edition contributed 
little to the restoration of the Greek texi; seeing it was undoubt- 
edly formed from modern MSS. alone. To the charge preferred 
by Wetstein and Semler against the e:litors of the Complutensian, 
of having altered the text, in conformity to the Latin Vulgate, 
Marsh replies, that though in some places they follov/ the Vulgate, 
in opposition to all the Greek MSS. yet there are more than two 
hundred places in the Catholic epistles, in which this edition dif- 
fers from the Vulgate. When Professor Moldenhawer visited 
Alcala, in 1784, to examine the MSS. from which the Compluten- 
sian had been made, he learned with inexpressible chagrin, that 
about 35 years before, an illiteral Librarian, who wanted room for 
some new books, had sold the MSS. to a Rocket-maker!!* 

STEPHENS' EDITIONS. 

No editions were attended with greater celebrity than those o^ 
Kobert Stephens, a learned printer at Paris. His first editions 
were distinguished for elegant neatness, and the third has been 
considered the chief d'csvre of splendid typography. In the pre- 
face of the fiist edition, in 1546, Stephens says "Having obtained 
from the Royal library several MSS. which, from their appear- 
ance of antiquity, are almost entitled to adoration, I have formed 
from them this edition, in such a manner, as not to print even a 
single letter, which is not confirmed by the greater and better par- 
of them;" and yet this edition is little more than a compilation 
from the Complutensian and fifth edition of Erasmus. The sec- 
ond edition differed from the first only in 67 places, and S7 of 
these were found not genuine. But it is of no importance to crit- 
icism, what his two first editions were, the third only became the 
source of future selections. 

[n 1550 appeared the famous third edition, in folio: in the pre- 
face to which Stephens again boasts of having collated his MSS. 
a second and even a third time; and notwithstanding Griesbacli 
says, this boasting is vain and false; for every man can see with 

* The whole Complutensiaa Bible is properly the first printed Pol yglott, 
consisting- of six volumes folio, the first four containing- the Hebrevr, Greek, 
and Latin of the Old Testament in three parallel columns, with the Chaldec 
paraphrase and Latin interpretation at the bottom of Ihe pag-e, and the mar- 
g^ins filled with Hebrew and Chaldee radicals. The fifth vohime contains the 
Greek and Latin Testaments, in parallel columns, with a kind of concord- 
ance m the marg-io. The sixth volume contains a^ Hebrew and Cbaldee 
grammar and dictionarv, Tvffh numerous usefai and explanatory iriclpxes. 

34 



266 histoiitl of iue sciiii'iuiiEs. 

his own eyes, that he made almost no use of his MSB. but adop- 
ted, as by a blind impulse, whatever he foiind in the fifth edition 
of Erasmus, following even the mistakes of that edition against 
the authority of all his MSS. According also to the testimony of 
Wetstein, Stephens' third edition differs scarcely twenty times 
from the fifth of Erasmus, in all the Gospels and Epistles; and 
when he departs from Erasmus, in the Apocalypse, it is only to 
follow the Complutensian. Moreover he did not collate any MSS, 
himself, but trusted entirely to his son Henry, a youth of 18 years, 
who, in his references to the Complutensian, gives no less than fif- 
ty false quoiations. The same negligence seems to pervade all 
the labours of Stephens, his Greek Concordance not excepted; so 
that this famous editor appears rather to have merited the appella- 
tion of a pompous blunderer than an accurate biblical critic. The 
margin, however, of Stephens' folio edition, in some degree, aton- 
ed for the imperfections of the text, by a valuable and numerous 
collection of various readings, derived from fifteen Greek MSS. 
and the text of the Complutensian Polyglott. 

BEZA^S EDITIONS. 

Beza like Stephens was a native of France, who fied to Swit- 
zerland on account of his religion. The materials of his edition 
were mostly the same as those employed by Stephens, His famous 
MS. now the Cambridge, the Clermont MS. of the Epistles, and 
the Syriac Testament, published by Tremellius, with a close Lat- 
in translation, were valuable sources of emendation, which, how- 
ever, seem to have been lost in the hands of Beza: for though a 
good classical scholar, he v/as unskilled in oriental literature; and 
worst of all, blinded by theological prejudice, so as to use his 
helps only for prolemicai purposes; preferring the analogy of faith 
to the authority of MSS. In short, says Marsh, he emended 
the text of Stephens' third edition in not more than fifty places; 
and even these emendations were not always founded on proper 
authority." He has been charged by Wetstein of unfairness and 
dissimilation, in suppressing the greater number and most impor- 
tant readings of his own MSS. and strenuously maintaining that 
all Stephens' MSS. agreed in those places, where, through negli- 
gence, Stephens had not taken the trouble to mark them. The 
judgment of Beza has often been found to rest on mere conjecture, 
or the testimony of one MS. in opposition to the concurrent voice 
all antiquity. 

Dr. Campbell, who, being a theologian of the same sect with 
Beza, cannot be suspected of prejudice towards his works, yet 
candidly observes, "that Beza was too violent a party man to pos- 
sess that impartiality without which it was impossible to succeed 
as an interpreter of holy writ. It requires but very little of a 
critical eye to disce^ in him a constant effort to accommodate the 
sf vie of the sacred writers to that of his sect." Hence this Latin 



HISTORY OF THE SGRIPTURES. 267 

translation \vhich accompanied his edition of the Greek, manifested 
on many occasions, a paraphrastic circumlocution, a spraining of 
the original, and a libertinism in interpolating, that was shameful 
in a man of his learning and profession. 

To instance in one or two examples, where Beza met the words 
of the Apostle, which directly teach the doctrine of Universal 
salvation, he gave them such a turn as not only to pervert the 
meaning, but also obviate the doctrine: saying, '^Qui quosvis hom- 
ines vullservari,'^^ which lie meant to imply, that God willed to save 
whom he pleased of all men: and again, '^Qui est conservator omm- 
urn hommum,^'i who is the preserver of all men, but the word So- 
ter is rendered Sahator^ Savior^, in every other place in the Testa- 
ment of Beza: and again. Gratia ilia Dei salatijera Qaibusms — im- 
plying that the Grace of God brought salvation to whomsoever he 
pleases. i But the Geneva English reads the passage correctly, 
'•for the Grace of God that bringeth s^alvation to all men, hath ap- 
peared.'' 

ELZEVIR'S EDITION. 

In this edition of 1624, the unknown editor appears to have 
made no use of any MSS. or critical authority. The whole of his 
materials were drawn from Beza's edition, and the third edition 
of Stephens. So closely did he follow the edition of Beza, that 
only fifty variations could be found in the whole of the New Tes- 
tament; and in these, he borrowed partly from Stephens, and part- 
ly from other editions; but certainly, says Marsh, from no Greek 
manuscripts. 

The Textus Receptus, therefore, was copied, v^^ith a few excep- 
tions, from Beza; Beza closely followed Stephens' third edition; 
Stephens in that edition, copied solely from the fifth of Erasmus, 
except in the Revelation. The Received text, therefore, in com- 
mon use, resolves itself into the Complutensian and Erasmian edi- 
tions. But neither Erasmus nor the Complutensian editors, used 
any manuscript of greater antiquity than the tenth century, and 
their other resources seem to be only a fev/ of the latest Greek Fa- 
thers, and the Latin Vulgate. Behold the Received Text canon- 
ized by vulgar prejudice, yet having little claims to approbation, 
except for the neatness of its typographical execution!! 

THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 

Home says Beza's fifth edition in 1598, being esteemed the 
most accurate, was adopted as the basis of the English Version of 
the New Testament, published by King James' authority in 1611. 
It is of no importance whether the edition of Beza or that of Eras- 
mus were used, the readings being almost invariably the same, 
but it will appear by a brief notice of the previous English edi- 
tions, that even the imperfect Greek iczt had not the most power- 
*1 Tim. i\. 4. + 1 Tim, iv. 10, tTiturii IL 



ful influence, in the direction of the English Scriptures. In loiiS 
appeared Luther's German translation of the New Testament, 
and in 1534 a revised edition of the whole Bible: consequently he 
could not have use any printed edition of the original New Testa- 
ment, but either the first or second of Erasmus. His abilities as 
a Hebrew and Greek scholar have not been doubted, but without 
the Vulgate, he did not possess the means of translating the He- 
brewj and the assistance derived from the Vulgate, is so visible in 
Luthier's translation that passages have been discovered which 
agree with the Latin, even where it differs from the Hebrew. In- 
deed there was no Hebrew Lexicon at that time, in existence, ex- 
cept those of Reuchlin and Munster, extracted from the meager 
glossaries of the Rabbins. 

William Tindal to whom we owe the first printed translation 
into English, having formed the design of translating the New 
Testament into English, removed to Antwerp, where in 1526 it, 
was printed. Le Long, the justly celebrated editor of the Bibli- 
otheca iS'acm calls this "the New Testament, translated into Eng- 
lish from the German version of Luther." It appears that Tindal 
understood Latin and German, but of his acquaintance with the 
Greek and Hebrew, little can be said. Bishop Marsh says "Tin- 
dal, spent some time with Luther, used the same books and pro- 
ceeded" in the same order as Luther, and we may conclude his 
translation was taken at least in part from Luther's; for this con- 
clusion is confirmed by the Germanisms, which it contains, some 
of which are still preserved in our Authorised Version." 

A Translation thus made by Tindal assisted in some parts of the 
Old Testament by Rogers, was published at Hamburgh under the 
feigned name of Matthewe, and hence called Matthewe's Bible. 
Subsequent English editions were Coverdale's Bible, Cranmer's 
Bible, (called also the Great Bible, and sometimes by the names 
of the printers, Grafton and Whitchurch,) the Geneva Bible, and 
Parker's or the Bishops' Bible, which last was published in 1568, 
and from that time was used in our Churches till the introduction of 
our present version. Now tlie Bishops' Bible, as appears from 
Archbishop Parker's instructions, was only a revision of Cran- 
mer's Bible: and Cranmer's Bible was only a correction (in some 
places for the worse) of Matthewe's Bible, that is, of the trans- 
lation made by Tyndal and Rogers. We see therefore the gene- 
alogy of the Bishops^ Bible; and the Bishops' Bible was made the 
basis of our present authorised version. For the first rule, given 
by James the First to the compilers of it, was this, *'The ordina- 
ry Bible, read in the Church, commonly called the Bishops' Bible, 
to be followed, and as little altered, as the original would permit." 
But whenever Matthewe's Bible, or Coverdale's, or Whitchurch's, 
or the Geneva Bible came nearer to the original, (that is to the edi- 
tions of the Hebrew Bible and Greek Testament then in use,) the 
text of these other English Bibles was ordered to be adopted. 



HlSTORl Of THE SCRlPTUREb. -269 

King Javnes having succeeded to the throne of England in 1603, 
and some objections having been made to th*^ Bishops' Bible at the 
conference held at Hampton Court in the following year. The 
King commanded a new version to be made; and fifty-four learn- 
ed men were appointed to this important work; but before they com- 
menced, seven of them had either died or declined the task; for 
the list given by Fuller contains only forty-seven names. These 
were divided into six companies,* arranged in the following 
order: ten were to meet at Westminster, and to translate from 
the Pentateuch to the end of the second book of Kings. Eight, 
assembled at Cambridge, were to finish the rest of the Historical 
Books, and the Hagiographa. At Oxford, seven were to under- 
take the four greater prophets, with the Lamentations of Jeremi- 
ah, and the twelve minor prophets. The four Gospels, Acts of 
the Apostles, and the Apocalypse, were assigned to another com- 
pany of eight, also at Oxford: and the epistles of St. Paul, togeth- 
er with the remaining canonical epistles, were allotted to another 
company of seven, at Westminster. Lastly, another company 
at Cambridge, were to translate the apocryphal books, including 
the prayer of Manasseh. 

The translation was commenced in the spring of 1607, and the 
completion of it occupied almost three years. At the expiration 
of that time, three copies of the whole Bible, thus transited and 
revised, were sent to London, — one from Oxford, one from Cam- 
bridge, and a third from Westminster. Here a committee of six, 

"^To these six companies of venerable translators, the King- gave the fol* 
]o»ving- instructions: 

»'l. The ordinary Bible read in the Church, commoDly called the Bishops' 
Bible, to be followed, and as httle altered as the orig-inal will permit. 

"2. The names of the prophets and the holy writers, with the other cames 
in the text, to be retained as near as may be, accordingly as they are vulgu- 
larly used. 

"3. The old ecclesiastical words to be kept, as the word church not to be 
translated congregation. 

"4. When any word hath divers significations, that to be kept, which hath 
been most commonly used by the most eminent Fathers, being agreeable lo 
the propriety of the place and the analogy of faith. 

"5. The division of the chapters to be altered either not at all, or as little 
as may be, if necessity so require. 

"6. No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation of 
the Hebrew or Greek words which cannot without some circumlocution, so 
briefly and fitly he expressed in the text. ' 

"7. Such quotations of places to be marginally set down, as shall serve for 
the fit references of one scripture to another. 

"8. Every particular man of each company to take the same chapter or 
chapters; and having translated or amended them severally by himself, where 
he thinks good, all to meet together, to confer what they have done, and agree 
for their part what shall stand. 

''9. As any one company hath dispatched any one book in this manner, they 
shall send it to the rest, to be considered of, seriouslv and judiciouslv: for his 
majest}^ is very careful in this point. 



--. U HISTORY OF THi: SCTill'TURES. 

two being deputed bj the companies at Oxford , two bj those at 
Cambridge, and two by those at Westminster, reviewed and pol- 
ished the whole work: \vhich was finally revised bj Dr. Smith (af- 
terwards bishop of Gloucester,), who wiote the preface, and by Dr. 
Bilson, bishop of Winchester. This translation of the Bible was 
fiist published in folio in 1611. 

Now, though we are fully satisfied, that, considering their cir- 
cumstances, prejudices, and means, the translators succeeded as 
well as could possibly be expected: and though we are as fully 
satisfied that no doctrine of the Bible has been either subverted, 
or so far obscured as not to be perceptible in James' translation, 
yet to all who are qualified to judge correctly and impartially, the 
following reasons for refusing entire submission to the English Bi- 
ble called the authorised version, will be abundantly satisfactory. 

1. The translation, if it had been taken from the original, must 
have been made from the Received text of the Greek, and such 
Hebrew copies as were veiy imperfect; for before the age of the 
Buxtorfs, there neither was a correct Hebrew text nor the means 
of translating it accurately. 

2. The Hebrew and Greek languages were not sufficiently un- 
derstood by Theologians in the reign of King James. Scarcely 
was there a Grammar or Lexicon in existence, from which any 
thing above a mere smattering of the languages could be obtained, 
and oriental literature had only arisen on the Christian world after 
the long and dark night of the middle ages. 

3. As all living languages, especially of free and commercial 
nations, are liable to fluctuate, so the English language has great- 
ly changed during the last two centuries; and hence the English 
Bible contains many obsolete, unintelligible, and unseemly phra- 
ses, which ought to be supplanted by language more suitable to 

"10. If any company upon the reviev7 of the book so sent, shall doubt or 
(litFer upon any places, to send them word thereof, to note the places, and 
therewithal to send their reasons; to which if they consent not, the diflisrence 
to be compounded at the general meeting, which is to be of the chief persons 
of each company, at the end of the work. 

"11. When any place of special obscurity is doubted of, letters to be di- 
rected by authority, to send to any learned in the land for his judg-mentoa such 
a place. 

"12. Letters to be sent from every bishop to the rest of bis clergy, admon- 
ishing them of this translation in hand, and to move and chaige as many as, 
being skilful m the tongues, have taken pains in that kind, to send their par- 
ticuiar observations to the company, either at Westminster, Cambridge, or 
Oxford, according -^s it was directed before in the king's letter to the Arch- 
bi?!iop. 

"13. The directors in each company to be the Deans of Westminster a"nd 
Chester for Westminster, and the King's Professors in Hebrev/ and Greek in 
the two Universities. 

"14. These translations to be used, when they a^rce better with the text 
than the Eishop^s Bible, viz. Tyndal's, C-"^-'-'c'~ ^^-^^thc^vc's Wh''-!-T-»^'s. 
r^eaeva. 



HISTORY OF rU'S. SCRIPTURES. 



2:1 



express the sense, and maintain tho tlignitjof tlie holy scriptures- 

4. The Phraseology of the. sacred writers, and the historical 
circumstances were not sufficiently known or regarded by the 
translators. In attestation of this assumption Ijet the writings of 
Carpzov, Jahn, Llghttoot, Schoetgen, Harmer, Paxton, and many 
others bear witness. 

5. The vast collections 0^ various readings; exhibited by Kenni- 
cott, De Rossi, and Griesbach show the original scriptures to have 
been corrupted in many thousand places: and the influence of a 
peculiar creed, and political control, induced the translators to vi- 
olate the sense of scripture in numerous instances. 

CRITICAL EDITIONS. 

The main object in view, in noticing the Critical editions, is to 
point out the advantages which arise from a corrected Englisli 
translation, formed on the same principles; rejecting the spurious 
an<l even all the doubtful readings from the text; receiving all the 
certainly genuine into the text; and placing the probable and 
doubtful in the margin, with appropriate'characteristic marks: for 
instance, placing all the probable in Roman letter, and all the 
doubtful in Italic. 

Of the Critical editions there are two kinds: first, such as re- 
tain the received text, and supply various readings in the margin; 
.secondly, those whose text has been corrected on the authority of 
the MSS. and Versions. Of the first class are the editions of Ste- 
phens, Walton, Curcelles, Fell, Mill, Kuster, Bengel, and Wet- 
stein: of the second class are those of Colinssnus, Wells, Bow- 
yer, Harwood, Mathaei, Alter, and Griesbach. 

To the assiduous researches and valuable discoveries of the 
learned for the last two centuries, we are indebted for an invalu- 
able apparatus, and the rules for applyins; it for the restoration of 
the sacred tQxt to its priaiitive purity. Hence is derived all that 
mighty mass of literature, commencing with the London Polyglott, 
and continued to the completion of Griesbach's incomparable Greek 
Testament, in which t/ae stores of literature and ingenious criti- 
cism, seem to have been exhausted. 

LONDON POLYGLOTT. 

The first editor who deserves particular notice is Brian Wal- 
ton, to whose exertions, aided by several distinguished literary 
friends, we are indebted for the famous London Polyglott, pub- 
lished l65S — 1657, in six volumes folio'; to which was added Pro- 
fessor Castle's Heptaglott Lexicon^ in two folio volumes: the whole 
constituting an everlasting monument of English enterprise and 
literary fame. 

Walton says in his preface, that he had examined the most cel- 
ebrated editions, both ancient and modern; had carefully inspec- 
ted the ancient versions: made diligent search through the public 



'^. ii HISTORY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

libraries for the best MSS. studiously collated them, and compar 
ed the results with the labors of those who had gone before, where- 
by he was enabled to supply the defects of preceeding editions^ 
and acquire a valuable accession to the former stock of critical 
materials. 

This vast work exhibits the Law and the Gospel in a style so 
magnificent and decorated, as to delight the heart of the Jew and 
exalt the faith of the Christian. The first volume contains the 
very learned and useful Prolegomena, and the Pentateuch, every 
sheet of which exhibits, at one view, 1. The Hebrew text with the 
Latin version of Montanus interlined; 2, the same verses in the 
Clementine Vulgate; 3. the Vatican Septuagint, with the Latin 
translation of Flaminus Nobilis, and the various readings of the 
Alexandrine MS. at the bottom of the column; 4. the Syriac ver- 
sion with a collateral translation in Latin; 5. the Paraphrase of 
Onkelos with a Latin version; 6. th^ Hebreo-Samaritan, and Sa- 
maritan version with one Latin translation and explanatory notes: 
7. the Arabic with a collateral Latin translation which generally 
agrees with the Septuagint. The second volume contains the His- 
torical books, and the third yq\u\x^q comprehends all the poetic and 
Prophetic books from Job to Malachi: 6o/^ volumes in the same 
languages as theirs/, except the Samaritan, and the addition of 
an Ethiopic version of the Psalms, so nearly related to the Septu- 
agint, that the same Latin translation serves for both versions. 
The /oKr^^ volume contains the Apocryphal books in Greek, Latin, 
Syriac, and Arabic: and three Targums of the Pentateuch. The 
fifth volume contains the New Testament: the four Gospels in six 
languages and the other books in five. The sixth volume is filled 
with various readings, critical remarks, and explanations of proper 
names. The principal assistant editors were Castle, Hyde, Po- 
cock, Lightfoot, Clarke and De Dieu; all of whom have immor- 
talized their names by their other individual labors. 

''We are at present concerned only with the text of the Greek 
Testament, and with the critical apparatus, which accompanied 
that text. Now the text itself, (which is contained in the fifth 
volume) is a re-impression of the folio edition by Robert Stephens, 
which Walton adopted in preference to the Elzevir ttxU because 
he embodied in his own work the various readings in Stephen's 
margin, which being adapted to Stephen's text might often be no va- 
rious readings to any other. The importance therefore of the Lon- 
don Polyglott, as far as it relates to our present history, is confi- 
ned to the materials, whicli it afforded for the purpose of future 
emendation. 

The materials derived from Greek authorities comprise a collec- 
tion of extracts from sixteen Greek manuscripts, in addition to 
the readings which had been quoted by Stephens. For the colla- 
tion of these manuscripts, as also on many other accounts, Wal- 
ton ^vas greatly indebted to Archbishop Usher, They are descr; 



711ST0IIY OF THE SCRIPTURES. '^i O 

bed at the head of the collation in the sixth volume by Walton 
himself; and a further account of them is given in the Prolegom- 
ena to Mill's Greek Testament. 

But the extracts from Greek Manuscripts were neither the sole 
nor the chief materials, which the Polj^glott afforded for the emen- 
dation of i\^Q Greek io^-sii. We have already seen, that the ancient 
versions of the New Testament are another source of various read- 
ings: and this source was opened more amply and more usefully 
in the London PolygU)tt, than in any of those which had prece- 
ded. In addition to the Latin Vulgate, it contains theSyriac, the 
Arabic, and theEthiopic versions of the New Testament, with the 
Persian in the Gospels. And those oriental versions are not only 
arranged in the most convenient manner, for the purpose of com- 
parring them with the Greek, but they are accompanied with literal 
Latin translations, and even they, v/ho are unacquainted with the 
oriental languages, might still have recourse to them for various 
readings. 

MILL'S EDITION. 

The great collection of various readings amassed in the sixth 
volume of the London Polvglott, soon excited attention, and pro- 
duced two valuable editions of the Greek Testament, with collec- 
tions of readings: the first was published at Amsterdam by Cur- 
celles, containing a considerable variety of various readings from 
MSS. and printed editions; and is one of the most beautiful as 
well as the most correctly printed, amojig the small Elzevir edi- 
tions; the second was published by Bishop Fell in one volume oc- 
tavo, 1675, enriched by the various readings from the London Pol- 
ygiott, the edition of Curcelles, twelve Bodleian, four Dublin, 
two Paris, and twenty-two Roman Greek MSS. collated by order 
of Pope Urban VIII. to which were added a collection of various 
readings from the Coptic and Gothic versions. 

Dr. Fell, notwithstanding the superiority of his edition, became 
so sensible that much remained to be done in order to obtain a gen- 
uine text, that he determined to promote a new edition; and for 
this purpose selected Dr. John Mill of Edmund Hall Oxford. 
Here, says Michaelis, ends the infancy of criticism, and begins 
the age of manhood in respect to the New Testament. After the 
incessant labor of thirty years, in examining the treasures of the 
ancient Fathers, Versions, and MSS. .of every age, in order to as- 
certain what had been the state of the original text from the for- 
mation of the Canon to the present time, and enable the reader to 
discover, by the help of his 30,000 various readings, what had been 
contained in the genuine MSS. he published his noble edition at 
Oxford, 170r, in one volume folio; and survived the accomplish- 
ment of his Herculian labor, only fourteen days\ 

WETSTEIN'S EDITION. 

About three years after the publication of Mill's edition, it was 



HibiORY OI THE SUUlPi UP.Eb. 



reprinted at Amsterdam under the superintendence of Ludolph 
Kusterj and the critical apparatus increased by readings fi'om 
twelve Greek MSS. and in ten years after Mill, Dr. Wells pub- 
lished a Greek and English Testaroent, corrected from Mill's va- 
rious readings. But a still more respectable attempt than either 
of these two, was made by Bengel, Professor in Tubingen, Suabia, 
who in the year 1734, publishcl a quarto edition of the Greek 
Testament, to which he prefixed an ''Introduction to the Criticism 
of the New Testame t,'' and added a ''Critical Apparatus.'' 
Though this apparatus was chiefly taken from Dr. Mill's edition, 
he added important extracts from m.ore than twenty Greek MSS. 
and from some of the ancient versions, particularly the Armeni- 
an. But all these editions only served to prepare the way for the 
stupenduous labors of John, James, Wetstein, Professor in the 
College of Remonstrants. In his twentieth year, while a student 
at Basle, his native place, he published a treatise "Concerning the 
various readings of the New Testament;^' and when he had finish- 
ed his studies, he sallied forth through the different nations of Eu- 
rope, in search of Greek MSS. which he every where collated 
with the greatest assiduity: and in IfSO, published, at Amster- 
dam, his Prolegomena; and after a delay of twenty years, he 
published the immense work itself, in two folio volumes, contain- 
ing above a miUion of literary and classical quotations! 

This edition is divided into four parts, the first containing the 
Gospels, the second containing the Epistles of St. Paul, the third 
containing the Acts of the Apostle^ with the Catholic Epistles, 
and the fourth containing the Apocalypse. Each of these four 
parts is accompanied with Prolegomena, in which the Greek man- 
uscripts are described, that are quoted in each part: and Wetstein's 
motive to this four-fold division was, that it corresponds with the 
usual contents of the Greek manuscripts, which seldom comprise 
the whole New Testament, but contain, some of them the four 
Gospels only, others only St. Paul's Epistles, others again the 
Acts of the Apostles with the Catholic Epistles, and lastly, others 
the Apocalypse alone, though two or more of these portions are 
sometimes found united in the same manuscript, while on i\\e. oth- 
er hand there are manuscripts, in which the portions are still small- 
er. The Prolegomena to the first part, in addition to the descrip- 
tion of Greek manuscripts, contain an account of the ecclesiastic- 
al writers, and of the ancient versions, v/hich are quoted in this 
edition. These Prolegomena, with the Animadversions and Cautions 
at the end of the second volume, must be studied by every man, 
who would fully appreciate a work, of which it impossible to give 
an adequate notion. 

The text of this edition is precisely the same with the Elzevir 
text, and hence it is called on the title-page Novum Testmnentum 
GrcBcum editionis receptiB. Though Wetstein very considerably 
augmented the stock of critical materials, thoug^h he drew from 



HISTORY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



various sources, which had hitherto remained unopened, though 
he collated, not by other hands, but by his own, and though few 
men have possessed a greater share either of learning or sagacity, 
yet no alterati-^n was made in the Greek text The charge which 
has been laid to Wetstein, of proposing alterations in the text for 
the mere purpose of obtaining; support to a particular creed, is 
without foundation. The merits therefore of Wetstein, as a crit- 
ic, ought not to be impeached by ascribing to him undue influence 
in the choice of his readings. His merits, as a critic, undoubted- 
ly surpass tlie merits of his predecessors: he alone contributed 
more to advance the criticism of the Greek Testament, than all 
who had gone before him: and this task he performed, not only 
witho -t support, eHher public or private, but during a series of 
severe trials, under which a mind of less energy than Wetstein's 
would infallibly have sunk. In short he gave a new turn to the 
criticism of the Greek Testament, and laid the foundation, on 
vvhich later editors have built.* 

GRIESBACH'S EDITION. 
We now proceed to the labors of Griesbach; Professor of Di- 
vinity at Jena, Saxony, the materials he used, and the rules he ap- 
plied, fur the formation of an amended text. Manuscript criticism 
had been the study of his life, he travelled like Wetstein, partic- 
ularly to examine himself the most ancient MSS. wherever depos- 
ited in the public libraries abroad. Regarding the mass of vari- 
ous readings as principally useful for ascertaining the character of 
the manuscripts in which they were found, he made it his principle 
object to revise rather than augment the critical apparatus furnish- 
ed by the works of Mill, Bengel, and Wetstein. In re-collating 

*Tbe emendations, which Wetstein had proposed, were adopted by Mr 
Bowyer, a learned printer in London, who inserted tbem in the text of his e-^ 
dition published eleven years afterwards. 

lu comparing* the labors of Mill and Wetstein, a mighty preeminence, in 
point of accuracy, tmist Ue as'judged to the latter. Pvlicliaelis, who poinded 
out about 500 mistakes of Mill, ia the acts of the Apostles alone, has com- 
pletely fid'.cd to prove thechnrg-e of 18, against the whole edition of Wetstein; 
for out Of these ei,<7-hteen, Marsh asserts, thirteen are false cliarges, and the 
fourteenth is doubtful. Hut Mil! fell into many inaccuracies by strong- attach- 
ment to the Fathers, the Lalin Vulg-ate, and dependence on the Latin trans- 
lations of the Oriental Versions, The errors of Mill & Beng'el have been cor- 
rected by the learned and able work of Professor Bode, entitled, "Pseudo-cii- 
tica Millio-Bengeliana." Helmstad, 1767. But we must plead an apology 
for Mill; he had the first great mind that dared to launch into the unbounded 
ocean of sacred literature, and though he could not attend to every particular, 
with due minuteness, yet let him have the praise of having done that in which 
liiOUsands would have failed: and his Prolegomena is the first attempt at reg- 
ular system in criticism. 

Wetstein on the other hand had his faults, which arose from his hostility to 
the Vulgate, and led him to depreciate every manuscript in which he percei- 
ved a co-incideace: and to coademn its readings as corrupt: and from a sm- 



!-i, HiSlOUV OF THE bflllPi UIU-.S. 

the original documents from wlilch thej had drawn their mateiial?. 
he has given the world an honorable testimonj in favor of their ac- 
curacy and fidelity. ""I'can speak, says he, with the greatest com- 
fidence, for having examined many MSS. anew which were for- 
merly CQllated by Mill and Wetstein, I have discovered many 
omissions, but few erroPxCous quotations." As it was Griesbach's 
intention to publish a Greek Testament, the text of which, though 
formed on the Basis of that of the Elzevir edition, should be cor- 
rected as required by the best and most ancient MS. authorityj 
he deemed it necessary to make only a selection of the most im- 
portant and characteristic of the various readinjjs. 

"In 1774 he published a Syn{)j3sis, or Harmony of the three first 
Gospels, with an amended text, and a selection of various .'ead- 
ings; to which were added, likewise with an amended text and a 
selection of readings, the Gospel of St John, and the Acts of the 
Apostles.* In the year, following he published in the same man- 
ner, the Epistles and the Apocalypse. And, as tlie Synopsis, though 
in itself a very useful work, and deservedly re published, for- 
med a contrast with the other books of the New Testament, he 
printed in 1777 the three first Gospels entire. Such were the 
component parts of what is called Griesbach's first edition of the 
Greek Testament, of which it was necessary to give a short ac- 
count, though our examination of Griesbach's merits as a critical 
editor, must be reserved for the description of his second and more 
important edition. 

In the mean time the stock of critical materials was very con- 
siderably augmented by the editions of Matthasi, Alter, and Birch, 
of which it is the more necessary to give some account, as the ma- 
terials, which they provided, were all transferred into Griesbach's 
second edition. 

The edition of the Greek Testament, published by Mathaei, who 
was Professor, first at Moscow,, and afterwards at Wittenburg, 
was printed at Riga, in twelve octavo volumes, at different times 
between 1732 and 1788: and pronounced the best by Middletbn. 
But whatever opinion be formed of the relative value attached to the 
different classes of Greek manuscripts, whether the opinion of 
Michaelis and Griesbach on the one hand, or of Matthsei on the 
other hand to be the true one, the fact, that Matthssi undertook a 
revision of the Greek text on the authority of one set of manu- 

picioa of a tendency to Latinize, he omitted altogether the various reading's of 
the twenty-two INISS. collated by Caryophilus at Rome, of which Mil] had 
made ample use. 

*This edition was published as a manual or text-book for a course of Lec- 
tures, which Professor Griesbach was that time delivering at Jena, and in 
which he exT)lained the first three Evangelists Synoptically, that is, by uni- 
ting together the three narratives of the sariiC event- His second most noble 
edition was not published until 1796, and 1806; the first vohime at an interval 
of twenty, and the second after an interval of thirty years assiduous labors! 



HISTORY or THE bClUTlU Kills. L. , 

:icnpts, must remain undisputed. And since no^ impartial judge 
can admit, that the genuine text of the Greek Testament may be 
established, as well by applying only a. part of our materials, as by 
a judicious employment of the whole, the edition of Matthasi is 
only so far of importance, as it furnishes new materials for future 
iisesj materials indeed, which are accompanied with much useful 
information, and many learned remarks. 

About the same period, namely in 1786 and 1787, Professor Al- 
ter at Vienna published an addition of the Greek Testament in 
two thick octavos. The text of this edition is neither the com- 
mon ie::t, nor a revision of it, but-amere copy from a single n.'an- 
uscript, and that not a very ancient one, in the Imperial Library 
at Vienna. The various readings, which are not arranged as in 
other editions, but are printed in separate parcels as first made by 
the collator, are likewise derived from Greek manuscripts in the 
Imperial Library. And the whole collation was augmented by ex- 
tracts from the Coptic, the Slavonian, and the Latin versions, 
which are also printed in the same indigestd manner, as the Greek 
readings. Alter's edition therefore contains mere materials for fu- 
tare uses. 

While Matthsei was employed at Moscow and Alter at Vi- 
enna, Professors Birch and Alder were engaged by the late King 
of Denmark to travel into Italy, and Professors Moldenhawer and 
Tychsen to travel into Spain, in search of /z/r^Aer materials for the 
criticism of the Greek Testament. For this purpose they exam- 
ined the principal libraries in Venice, Florence, Bologna, and 
Rome, with the library of the Escurial in Spain. The produce of 
their researches, as far as relates to the four Gospels, was publish- 
ed by Professor Birch at Copenhagen in 1788, in a quarto volume, 
designed for the first volume of an edition of the Greek Testa- 
ment; and in the Prolegotnena to this volume was given a detail- 
ed accMunt of the collated manuscripts. In the text of this edi- 
tion no alterations were made. But a very complete collation 
is given of that distinguished manuscript, wh.Ich is known by the 
name of the Vatican, and which till that time, in the New Testa- 
ment, had been only partially examined. Another very important 
addition consisted in the extracts from a Syriac version, written 
in a peculiar dialect, which Alder, v/ho collated it at Rome, calls 
the dialect of Jerusalem. 

In addition to the new sources, Vv'hich were opened in the inter- 
val between Griesbach's first and second edition, must be noticed 
some publications, which contributed to nugment or improve the 
knowledge already acquired. Thus the Philoxenian version, which 
Wetstein had imperfectly collated in manuscript, being printed 
by Dr. White at Oxford in 1778 (namely the four Gospels, for the 
other books were deferred more than twenty years,) enabled Gries- 
bach to correct various mistakes in the former collation, and make 
to it considerable additions. Similar advantages u'ere derived 



ird HISTORY OF THE i:CRIPTUREb. 

from the publication of some ancient Greek manuscripts, of the 
Codex Alexandrinus bj Woide in London in 1786, of the Codex 
Boernerianus by Matthsei at Meissen in 1791, and of the Codex 
Bez^. by Dr. Kipling at Cambridge in 1793. 

But after all the materials collected for the purpose of obtaining 
a correct edition of the Greek Testament, materials for which all 
the known libraries in Europe had been searched, and which it 
had employed nearly three centuries to obtain, there was still wan- 
ting an editor of sufficient learning, acuteness, industry, and im- 
partiality in the weighing of eridonce, to apply those materials to 
their proper object. Dr. Griesbach, by his first edition of the 
Greek Testament, had already afforded convincing proofs of his 
critical ability: and hence the learned in general, especially in his 
own country, regarded him as the person, who was best qualified 
to undertake this new revision of the Greek text. For this pur- 
pose he re examined the most ancient manuscripts, wherever doubts 
might be entertained, and it was important to ascertain the turth. 
The peculiar readings, v/hich distinguish one class of manuscripts 
from another, and are the basis on which that classification is for- 
med, were likewise objects of particular attention. But he, ia 
general, disrep;arded the mass of readings, which are commopt to 
most manuscripts, as serving rather to incumber, than to improve 
our critical apparatus. At the same time, whenever uncollated 
manuscripts pr's-^nted themselves to his notice, he neglected not 
to extract what was worthy of attention. The fruits of his re- 
searches, with his remarks on t!ie examined manuscripts, he pub- 
lished in tv;o octavo volumes printed at Halle in 1785 and 1793 
under the title of Symbolce CAticcB. This work contains the 
principles, on which Griesbach has founded his critical system; 
and consequently should be studied by every man, who attempts 
to form an estimate of his critical merits. 

As the quotations from the Greek Testament, which are scat- 
tered in the writings cf the most ancient Greek Fathers, are of 
great importance in ascertaining the the genuineness of disputed 
passages, he undertook a new and complete collation of the works 
of Oiigen, which he also published in his Symbolse criticse, accom- 
panied with the quotations of Clement of Alexandria, which dif- 
fered from the common i^^i. 

Further, as the testimony of the most ancient Latin versions, 
such as those, which have been published by Blanchini and Saba- 
tier, are, in many cases, important to the Greek text, he under- 
took a new collation of those ancient versions. Of the Sahidic 
version, or the version in the dialect of the Upper Egypt, he quo- 
ted the readings, which had been furnished by Woide, Georgi, 
and Munter. -Of the Armenian version a new collation was made 
for him by Bredenkamp of Bremen: and the Slavonian version 
was collated for him, both in manuscript and in print, by Dobrows- 
kv at Prague. Nor must we nej^lect to mention the fragments of 



HISTORY OF THE SCRIPTURES. "2.79 

two very ancient Greek manuscripts, preserved at Wolfenbut- 
tel, which Knittel had published with his Fragment of the Gothic 
version. 

There is a question Iiowever in reserve, of still greater conse- 
quence than the extant or the value even of the critical materials: 
and that is, Have those materials been properly applied to the 
emendation of the Greek text? That thej were consciendoushj ap- 
plied, is admitted bj every man, to whom Griesbach's character is 
known. His scrupulous integrity, as a man and a scholar, is suffi- 
cient guarantee for the honest application of them. Nor have his 
contemporaries ever questioned either his learning, or his judg- 
ment, if we except Matthsef, who wrote under the influence of 
personal animosity. Of the emendations w^hich he has introdu- 
ced, there are many, which had received the approbation even of 
the early editors, Erasmus and Beza; others had been approved 
by Mill| others again by Bengelius^ and most of them by Wet- 
stein and Bowyer.'' 

CHRONOLOGY OF THE NSW TESTAMENT. 

Chronology, as distinguished from history, is employed in as- 
certaining dates and the order of events; end therefore leads to 
the detection of errors, Vv^hich may have crept into particular texts 
of scripture. Though only a small portion of Chronology falls 
within the compass of the Evangelical Flistory, yet the two princi- 
pal events of the New Testament seem not to be established with 
precision: these are the time of Christ- s Birth and Death. 

More than a few words are unnecessary to settle a theological dis- 
pute, of long and accrimonious duration. Luke afSrms John com- 
menced his m^inistry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, Pontius Pi- 
late being Governor of Judea. This is clear. Not sooner than the 
second year of John's ministry, did the Master of Christians le- 
ceive Baptism, and at that time he was thirty years of age accor- 
ding to the same Evangelist. Now the sixteenth yediv of the sole em- 
pire of Tiberius was the year of Rome 783; consequently our 
Lord was born in the year of Rome 753, the beginning of the 195 
Olympiade, the year of the Julian Period 4711, L^sherian year of 
the world 4004, and fourth year of the reign of Archelaus, Herod 
being dead three years and nine months. This view will be confirm- 
ed by the time of Pilate's government, which, says Josephus, last- 
ed ten years and ended before the death of Tiberius in the year of 
Rome 790; and consequently must not have commenced sooner 
than A. U. 780 or A. D. 27. Therefore our Lord m.ust ^ave been 
born in the year of Rome 753 and first year of the Vulgar Chris- 
tian ^ra; and those Chronologers who antidate the time of Christ's 
Birth, to place it in the reign of Herod, fail to place the appear- 
ance of the Baptist within the government of Pilate; and avoid- 
ing Scylla, they have fallen into Charybdis. 

The deration of Christ-s Minisfn/ h s:QUQrdi]]y extended to three 



^::S0 HliiTORY OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

or four years: hence Commentators and Harmonists point out no 
less than four or five passovers in the Evangelical Historj^ but 
John mentions onhj two; the rest have originated in the exuberance 
of theological fancy. Sir Isaac Newton, Dr. Priestley, Dr. Mc- 
Knight, Mr. Mann, and others have adduced abundant evidence 
that the early Fathers and Commentators included all the minis- 
try of Jpsus within one year, which they called the ''^Accepted year 
of the Lord.'^^ Tatian, who composed the first Harmony of the 
Gospels, about the year ITO, compt ephends all the transactions 
from the Baptism to the Passion of Christ, in one year. Clement 
of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Julius Africanus, Lactantiu?, 
Jerome, Augustine, and Prosper, limit the duration of Christ's 
Ministrjs to two passovers, or one year, which was the 16th of Ti- 
berius and consulship of the Gemini. Nov/ if Tradition ever 
cuglit to be trusted, surely when no fact can be opposed. — Euse- 
bius was the first who imagined he discovered more than two pass- 
overs in John, but the same Eusebius says, *'It is evident, that all 
the acts of our Saviour, related by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 
are those which followed the imprisonment of John, and are com- 
prised within the space of one year.'' If with Tatian, Comes- 
tor, Ludolphus, Mann, and Priesley, we transpose the fifth and 
sixth chapters of John, we shall find that the Evangelist mentions 
only one idnter, one summer^ two passovers^ one Pentecost^ one feast 
of dedication, and one of Tabernacles: and all these in their nat- 
ural order: and that these chapters should be transposed, the con- 
nexion and circumstances of the history absolutely require; for the 
last of the fourth chapter leaves Jesus in Gallilee, and the first 
of the si vth represents him parsing out of it; and the end of the 
fifth has an easy and natural conexion with the beginning of the 
seventh chapter. 

See Isaac rvowton''s Observatiens en DaDJel; PriestleyV, Harmony; IMc 
Kuights's Harmony, fonrlh Preliminary observation; Mann on the Duration 
of Chrisfs Ministry; Euseb— Eccles—Hist. L. 13. C. 24- 

TJtka, Aiignst 19//?, 1826. 



END OF THE INTRODUCTION. 



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